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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.
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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