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 The court, with a 5-4 conservative majority, is set to hear an hour
of arguments beginning at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT) 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 30 miles (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 legalized 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 center, could be the pivotal vote. He cast the
deciding vote when the justices last year on a 5-4 vote blocked
Louisiana's law from taking effect while the litigation over its
legality continued.
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That vote brings him into conflict with his position in the Texas case when
Roberts was among the three dissenting justices who concluded that an admitting
privileges requirement did not represent an undue burden.
Baton Rouge-based U.S. District Judge John deGravelles cited the undue burden
precedent when he struck down Louisiana's law in 2016, prompting the state to
appeal to the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The 5th
Circuit upheld the law despite the 2016 precedent, concluding there was no
evidence any Louisiana clinic would close due to the admitting privileges
requirement.
Abortion remains one of the most divisive social issues in the United States,
with Christian conservatives - an important constituency for Trump - among those
most opposed to it. A Supreme Court ruling in favor of Louisiana's law could
prompt other states to pass similar statutes.
Abortion rights advocates have argued that restrictions such as admitting
privileges are meant to limit access to abortion not protect women's health as
proponents say.
Activists who oppose abortion are hoping the Supreme Court, with Gorsuch and
Kavanaugh and perhaps additional Trump appointees on the bench if he wins
re-election on Nov. 3, will scale back or even overturn Roe v. Wade.
[For a graphic on U.S. state abortion laws, see tmsnrt.rs/2WZuiVP]
(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley and Andrew Chung; Additional reporting by Jan
Wolfe; Editing by Will Dunham)
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