Planned Parenthood is launching a major push in eight states to repeal abortion clinic regulations ruled unconstitutional earlier this week by the Supreme Court.
The court struck down Texas’ requirements for abortion providers to have hospital privileges and qualify as surgical centers, but similar laws remain in place in many other states around the country. Planned Parenthood said Thursday it will work with partners in Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia to introduce legislation repealing those measures.
Abortion opponents say the regulations protect the health of women, while abortion rights proponents have said they impose unnecessary requirements on providers. Five justices on the Supreme Court agreed with that viewpoint, in a decision written by liberal Justice Stephen Breyer.
“Monday’s decision removed the smokescreen that politicians have been hiding behind and revealed their true motives — ending access to abortion, no matter how many women they hurt as a result,” said Helene Krasnoff, director of public policy at the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. “None of these laws benefit women, or protect women’s health.”
It’s unclear how successful Planned Parenthood would be in repealing the laws legislatively, as the states that passed them are led by anti-abortion Republicans.
Groups opposed to abortion are also prepared to push back. Americans United for Life President Clarke Forsythe said the Supreme Court’s decision in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt will “drive down” medical standards in abortion clinics.
“It’s clear that the abortion industry wants the respectability of the medical profession while refusing to uphold the same high medical standards others comply with, always fighting to keep profits high and standards low,” Forsythe said in a statement.
