<<<< At 20 weeks, she is 6 inches long, weighs 11 ounces and often sucks her thumb.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A federal appeals court on
Thursday ruled that most of Texas’ tough new abortion restrictions can take
effect immediately — a decision that means as least 12 clinics won’t be able to
perform the procedure starting as soon as Friday.
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A panel of judges at the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New
Orleans said the law requiring doctors to have admitting privileges at a nearby
hospital can take effect while a lawsuit challenging the restrictions moves
forward. The panel issued the ruling three days after District Judge Lee Yeakel
said the provision serves no medical purpose.
In its 20-page ruling, the appeals court panel acknowledged
that the provision “may increase the cost of accessing an abortion provider and
decrease the number of physicians available to perform abortions.” However, the
panel said that the U.S. Supreme Court has held that having “the incidental
effect of making it more difficult or more expensive to procure an abortion
cannot be enough to invalidate” a law that serves a valid purpose, “one not
designed to strike at the right itself.”
The restrictions are among the toughest in the nation and
gained notoriety when Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis launched a nearly
13-hour filibuster against them in June. Davis has since launched her own
gubernatorial campaign and could face Abbott in the November 2014
election.
Republican Gov. Rick Perry has said he will not seek another term.
The law that the Legislature passed this summer also bans
abortions at 20 weeks of pregnancy and beginning in October 2014
