Author
amoshaun
This would deserve a comment on what would happen if one of the more liberal judges stepped down and bush appointed a new justice.
AP Top News
Justices Won't Hear Abortion Doctors
by ANNE GEARAN
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court said Monday it will not hear
South Carolina abortion providers' complaint that they are subject to
unconstitutional and medically pointless regulations.
The court, without comment, turned aside the claim by doctors that additional
medical and safety rules imposed by the state are really just an attempt to
undermine abortion rights.
The conservative-led court has a narrow majority in favor of the basic right
to an abortion, but in recent years it has allowed some restrictions on access
to the procedure.
Four South Carolina abortion doctors claimed the disputed rules ''represent a
concerted attempt to chip away at the right to abortion'' and violate the
Constitution's guarantee that everyone will be treated equally under the law.
The rules governing everything from bookkeeping to air flow in clinic offices
treat early-term abortion differently from other similarly low-risk medical
procedures, the doctors claimed. To comply, doctors would have to make
expensive changes to their offices and procedures that would raise the cost
of abortion significantly, the doctors said.
''Under the guise of promoting maternal health, these regulations actually
threaten women's health by significantly hindering their access to safe, legal
abortions,'' lawyers for the doctors wrote.
South Carolina authorities responded that the regulations are very similar to
national standards for abortion practices, and that one of the clinics fighting
the rules has already complied with most of them.
''This regulation does not look to strike at a woman's right to choose whether
to have an abortion,'' lawyers for the state wrote. ''Rather, these regulations
look to protect the health of women who seek abortions.''
The state cited several benefits to public health and safety from the
regulations, including requirements to ensure that abortion providers are
properly trained and their clinics properly equipped.
The rules also require women be tested for venereal diseases that might
complicate abortions.
The dispute arose from a 1995 decision by the state Legislature to change the
way abortion clinics were regulated. The change also affects medical offices
that perform abortions in addition to unrelated services.
A state regulatory agency later issued a new, 27-page book of regulations,
and the doctors sued to keep the rules from taking effect.
A lower court agreed with the doctors, but the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals sided with the state last year. The doctors then appealed to the
Supreme Court.
In 1992, the high court reaffirmed women's core right to end their
pregnancies but let states raise new hurdles, such as 24-hour waiting periods.
In its last major abortion ruling, the court voted 5-4 last year to dramatically
limit states' power to ban ''partial-birth''abortions.
The case is Greenville Women's Clinic v. Bryant, 00-798.