A coalition of Texas clinics fighting strict state abortion rules appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States on Wednesday. The clinics argue the state is intentionally limiting access to abortion for millions of women.
The legal battle has been ongoing since 2013 when the Texas legislature passed a set of laws regulating abortion clinics. Among those rules are a requirement that the clinics upgrade their infrastructure to a hospital-like setting and that their physicians have admitting privileges to a nearby hospital. Unable to meet the requirements, more than half the abortion clinics in Texas have closed.
Supporters of the new rules argue say they're meant to make abortion safer, while organizations like the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists say the rules are unnecessary.
The 5th Circuit Court of appeals has twice ruled against the coalition of clinics seeking to undo the new regulations. Meanwhile the Supreme Court has temporarily blocked certain provisions of the rules from going into effect during the ongoing litigation.
The next Supreme Court session begins in October.