Just a day before the Texas abortion law was scheduled to go into effect, a federal judge declared certain restrictions unconstitutional.
District Judge Lee Yeakle said Monday that House Bill 2 violated doctors’ right to do what they think is best for their patients, according to the Huffington Post.
Yeakle said in his opinion that one part of the law was unconstitutional, while the others were not.
The section that failed constitutional review is the provision requiring that a physician performing or inducing an abortion must, on the date of the abortion, have active admitting privileges at a hospital that is located not farther than 30 miles from the location at which the abortion is performed and provides obstetrical or gynecological health care services.
“The ruling protects access to safe and legal abortions for women in many parts of the state, but it also puts a geology of science by banning a safe method of abortion for many women,” Alejandra Diaz, spokesperson for Gulf Coast Planned Parenthood, said.
Congressman Kevin Brady said in a press release that it is reasonable to require doctors to be able to admit patients into a nearby hospital
“I’m disappointed in the court’s ruling because Texas carefully crafted a law that protects the life and health of both the mother and the unborn,” Brady said. “Both are important.”
Several branches of Planned Parenthood sued the state on Sept. 26 after the law was passed and several of their locations closed due to lack of state funding.
The part of the law that the judge upheld was the requirement for all abortions to take place in facilities meeting the same standards as ambulatory surgical centers. This part of the law will not go into effect until October 2014.
The first time the abortion bill was brought up, it was filibustered by Sen. Wendy Davis, a Fort Worth Democrat. She stood and talked for more than 11 hours, successfully filibustering the bill, although it was later passed in the second special session of the 83rd Legislature.