US Supreme Court weighs curbs on doctors in abortion case
WASHINGTON: The US Supreme Court returns to the issue of abortion rights when it considers a challenge to a Louisiana law that imposes restrictions on doctors in a major case that could make it harder for women to obtain the procedure.
The court, with a 5-4 conservative majority, is set to hear an hour of arguments in an appeal by Shreveport-based abortion provider Hope Medical Group for Women seeking to invalidate the 2014 law.
Two of Louisiana’s three clinics that perform abortions would be forced to close if the law is allowed to take effect, according to lawyers for the clinic.
The clinic sued to block the law, which requires that doctors who perform abortions have a sometimes difficult-to-obtain arrangement called “admitting privileges” at a hospital within 48 km of the clinic.
A federal appeals court upheld the law. President Donald Trump’s administration supports Louisiana in the case.
The Supreme Court struck down a similar Texas requirement in 2016 when conservative Justice Anthony Kennedy, who retired in 2018, joined the four liberal justices to defend abortion rights.
Trump has tightened the conservative grip on the court with his 2018 appointment of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who replaced Kennedy, and his 2017 appointment of Justice Neil Gorsuch.
Neither Kavanaugh nor Kennedy ruled directly on abortion rights during their prior service as federal appellate judges.
Trump promised during the 2016 presidential race to appoint justices who would overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that recognized a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion and legalised it nationwide.
The Supreme Court in 1992 reaffirmed Roe v. Wade in a ruling that prohibited laws that placed an “undue burden” on a woman’s ability to obtain an abortion.
The Louisiana case will test the willingness of the court to uphold Republican-backed abortion restrictions being pursued in numerous conservative states. Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative who is considered the court’s ideological centre, could be the pivotal vote.