The United States Supreme Court announced Friday morning that it will hear the potentially monumental case, June Medical Services v Gee, brought forth by abortion providers against the state of Louisiana over what they say is an unconstitutional law which requires abortion practitioners to have admitting privileges at local hospitals.
#SCOTUS adds abortion to already explosive term, agreeing to hear No 18-1323 and 18-1460 June Medical Services v Gee re: Louisiana law requiring doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at local hospitals. Background: https://t.co/Z6IIJlnsgP
— Kimberly Robinson (@KimberlyRobinsn) October 4, 2019
This is the first abortion case heard with Justice Brett Kavanaugh on the High Court. Based off the reaction from the left, expect this one to be a doozy in terms of vitriol and rhetoric from pro-choice activists and mainstream media. Vox already has a story bluntly subtitled, "Roe v. Wade had a good run."
"The Supreme Court announced on Friday that it will hear June Medical Services v. Gee, a case that could well be the vehicle the Court’s conservatives use to gut the right to an abortion," the lede says.
Law.com explains the heart of the case and it's potential impact in overturning recent precedent:
At issue is Louisiana’s Unsafe Abortion Protection Act, which requires physicians performing abortions to have hospital admitting privileges within 30 miles of the procedure. Challengers to the law argued that it would leave one doctor and one clinic available to perform abortions for approximately 10,000 Louisiana women who seek the procedure each year.
The high court struck down a similar Texas law in the 2016 case Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, but that was before the arrival of two new conservative justices whose views on abortion have not been fully tested: Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. Kavanaugh’s predecessor Anthony Kennedy, who had mixed views on abortion, joined liberal colleagues to strike down the Texas law by a 5-3 margin.
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The Justice Foundation, a group who provides free legal service with the "mission to litigate, educate and advocate for life, liberty and justice," released the following statement Friday morning after SCOTUS' announcement:
“With the Supreme Court granting Cert today, we will file an Amicus Curiae brief asking the Court to use this case to overturn Roe v. Wade. Over a quarter of a million Americans have signed The Moral Outcry Petition calling on the Court to reverse Roe and Doe under the Law of Judicial Precedent. Reversing these decisions would make America, including American women who do not want to take care of a child for any reason, better off. Now is the time to end the tragedy of abortion in America.”
Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life, also released a statement on the case:
"Abortion activists are more than willing to lower the bar on women’s health in order to expand abortion, but stricter clinic regulations are in the best interest of women. Just recently we were reminded of the need for more oversight when it comes to abortion, not less, with the appalling case of the abortionist Ulrich Klopfer who collected thousands of aborted babies’ bodies in his home. We applaud the Louisiana bill’s sponsor Katrina Jackson as well as its other supporters for taking concrete steps to protect women in that state."
As reported, Justice Kavanaugh's confirmation was hotly contested due to a variety of reasons, but perhaps chief amongst them is the left's belief abortion is a natural right. The attorneys for his sexual assault accuser Christine Blasey Ford admitted she motivated in part because of his pro-life views. June v. Gee is one of multiple abortion cases which the court could review in the next decade.
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