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 A panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans will
also hear from lawyers for Texas arguing in favor of a requirement
that the state's abortion clinics have certain hospital-like
settings for surgeries.
All three judges on the panel were appointed by former Republican
President George W. Bush. Abortion rights advocates are bracing for
what they believe is a likely defeat before they file a challenge to
the U.S. Supreme Court.
The "ambulatory surgical center requirement" was to have taken
effect on Sept. 1. Under the measure, clinics would have to meet a
set of building standards ranging from widening halls to having
facilities for certain surgeries, even when an abortion is medically
induced.
Texas argues its rules would reduce complications and improve
patient care, while opponents say they would force many clinics into
costly and needless renovations aimed at driving them out of
business.
U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel, also a Bush appointee, struck down
the provision, ruling in August that "the ambulatory-surgical center
requirement was intended to close existing licensed abortion
clinics."
Before Texas passed abortion restrictions in 2013, there were 40
licensed abortion facilities in the state. That number has since
dropped by about half, with advocates saying that number would have
been reduced to eight, at most, if the ambulatory surgical center
requirement had taken effect.
The Texas law also includes a provision requiring abortion
practitioners to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30
miles (48 km) of the clinic.
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Yeakel lifted the restrictions on admitting privileges in two
regions, McAllen and El Paso, saying they were forcing women in
those areas to travel hundreds of miles for an abortion.
The 5th Circuit said on Oct. 2 that Texas could begin enforcing both
requirements. Days later, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a request
filed by abortion rights groups that allowed Yeakel's decision to
remain in effect, sending the case back to the 5th Circuit.
Amy Hagstrom Miller, founder of Whole Woman's Health, a plaintiff in
the suit, said she anticipated an unfavorable ruling but expected
plaintiffs to ask the Supreme Court to block it.
(Reporting by Jonathan Kaminsky; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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