The US Supreme Court made the decision to strike down a Louisiana law on 29 June 2020 in June Medical Services v. Russo. The state law would have limited abortion access in the state by requiring doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals.
This decision is, as stated by lawyers challenging the Louisiana law, a carbon copy of the Texas law aiming to limit access to abortion, which was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2016 in Whole Woman’s Health v Hellerstadt. In this case, it was ruled that restrictions place an undue burden on a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion. The Supreme Court stated that the requirement for admitting privileges led to the closure of half of Texas’ clinics. In Louisiana, it is stated that, if the requirement for admitting privileges went into effect, ‘one clinic and one doctor would be left’ to carry out the procedure.
AN UNEXPECTED DECISION IN THE CURRENT POLITICAL SITUATION
Due to President Trump’s Conservative-leaning appointments to the Supreme Court, there were fears that the case could enable states to ‘impose greater restrictions on the procedure’, as President Trump aimed to appoint pro-life justices with the intention of overturning Roe v Wade. Roe v Wade was a landmark decision in 1973, which held that the right to an abortion was "implicit in the right to privacy protected by the 14th Amendment to the Constitution". Prior to this judgment, abortion had largely been illegal throughout the United States. Since becoming President, Trump has appointed two justices - Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh – both being conservative in their legal philosophy, and causing a shift in the composition of the court to the right. This makes the decision an achievement in maintaining abortion rights, despite the current composition of the Court.
IS THIS ENOUGH TO PROTECT ABORTION RIGHTS?
Despite this ruling appearing as a progressive achievement for the protection of abortion rights, it is not the end. These rights are continuously fought against across the country. Two days after this Supreme Court decision to strike down the Louisiana law, a new abortion restriction went into effect in Florida. This requires anyone under 18 to receive parental consent prior to having an abortion. Although many young people voluntarily involve a parent in their decision to have an abortion, this law creates an obstacle for those that "fear abuse, deterioration of family relationships, being kicked out of home, or forced to continue a pregnancy". Margaret Wurth, writing for Human Rights Watch, labelled this law a "sobering reminder that attempts to restrict access to abortion care won’t end with this week’s Supreme Court decision".
Moreover, the Supreme Court declined to take up several abortion cases on 2 July 2020, despite striking down the Louisiana law days earlier. It is argued that this shows that the justices aren’t eager to immediately jump back into the national fight over abortion. With vastly differing opinions on abortion throughout the states, the Supreme Court are not willing to go further to protect abortion rights. However, the anti-abortion movement has a "long pipeline of new cases that could present a more direct challenge to Roe v Wade", so it does not appear as if the Supreme Court can continuously avoid the national disagreements surrounding abortion.
Anti-abortion groups stated that the Louisiana decision "only adds fuel to the ongoing efforts to re-elect the president this November". Marjorie Dannenfelser, President of the Susan B. Anthony List, an anti-abortion group, stated that it is ‘"imperative that we re-elect President Trump and our pro-life majority in the US Senate". This message appears to be supported by Vice President, Mike Pence, who stated that, “After today’s disappointing decision by SCOTUS, one thing is clear: We need more Conservative justices on the U.S. Supreme Court.”
However, abortion rights groups state that the decision is a motivating factor as it revealed that abortions are still threatened, despite Roe v Wade, and that "abortion rights could be whittled away under Trump’s presidency". This reinforces the need for further protection of abortion rights by the Supreme Court, though the striking down of the Louisiana restrictions on abortion provides hope that abortion rights can be maintained, even within a Conservative-leaning administration.
Rebecca is a first year MLaw student at Northumbria University. She is interested in writing about human rights law in order to raise awareness about important issues and achieve progress through activism and advocating for the rights of others.