Fifth Circuit Deals Blow to Texas Women; Only 7 Health Centers to Remain Open for Entire State

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CONTACT: 212-549-2666, media@aclu.org

AUSTIN — The U.S Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has allowed a law to take effect that imposes medically unnecessary and prohibitively costly requirements on women’s health centers and will force them to close. This law will leave only seven women’s health centers for the state’s more than 5.5 million women of reproductive age.

Major medical groups, including the Texas Medical Association and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, oppose the requirements, which dictate even the size of closets, because they have little to do with patient health. The requirements are designed to force women’s health providers to close, and they are succeeding.

Below find quotes from Jennifer Dalven, director of the American Civil Liberties Union Reproductive Freedom Project, and John C. Jennings, MD, President of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists:

“This is a devastating day for Texas women. The court’s decision ignores the medical experts, who have recognized that these laws hurt women, not help them. It essentially tells extreme politicians not to worry about medical evidence or a women’s safety, and that it doesn’t matter if women and families pay the price.” – Jennifer Dalven

“Decades ago, the US Supreme Court recognized that the US Constitution guarantees women access to safe, legal abortions; that’s a settled matter. Thanks to good medical care, abortion is one of the safest procedures. Under the guise of making abortion safer, these requirements actually make abortion less safe and will prevent women from getting the abortions they need. Even procedures with higher complication and mortality rates don’t have to meet these specious standards. Women deserve better from their elected representatives, who should be protecting – not working to take away – their Constitutional rights.” – John C. Jennings, MD