Abortion-rights groups challenge restrictions

RICHMOND, VA.» As abortion opponents cheer the passage of fetal heartbeat laws and other bans on the procedure, abortion-rights groups have been waging a quieter battle in courthouses across the country to overturn less-direct restrictions passed in recent years.

At least a dozen lawsuits have been filed in two years challenging what abortionrights groups call TRAP laws, targeted restrictions on abortion providers.

Anti-abortion groups say the laws are needed to protect women’s health. Abortion-rights groups say the laws are medically unnecessary regulations designed to drive abortion clinics out of business and make it more difficult for women to end pregnancies.

The first lawsuit to make it to trial is set to begin Monday in U.S. District Court in Richmond.

Abortion-rights groups suing Virginia in the case won a brief victory this month when the presiding judge struck down a law that said only physicians can perform first-trimester abortions.

A week later, the judge rescinded his ruling and said he needed more evidence before deciding if the law places an “undue burden” on women seeking abortions.

“We are excited to put this case before the judge,” said Jenny Ma, a senior staff attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights, a legal advocacy organization.

TRAP laws “have been instrumental in making it very difficult for our clients to run their facilities, and it makes it very difficult for women to access abortion care, both in Virginia and in other states,” she said.