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Texas Law Requiring Abortion-Performing Doctor to Have Hospital Privileges Approved by Court

Russ Jones

A federal appeals court has upheld a law that Republican Gov. Rick Perry installed last year. Thursday the U.S. 5th Circuit Court in New Orleans granted permission to enforce House Bill 2 (HB2) that requires abortion facilities to follow the same standards as other Ambulatory Surgical Centers in the state, according to LifeNews.com

Essentially the law mandates abortionists have admitting privileges at a local hospital. HB2 also bans late-term abortions.

The Associated Press reports the decision “would effectively close all but seven abortion facilities in America’s second-most populous state.”

The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists applauds the recent decision by the panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court in New Orleans to uphold the laws of the State of Texas. AAPLOG leaders maintain the decision allows Texas to protect women from unsafe abortion clinics that do not meet the minimum health and safety standards set by the State of Texas.

“It is telling that the President and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights wants to spin this issue as abortion rights, when clearly at issue is the health and safety of the women of Texas,” said AAPLOG Executive Director Donna Harrison, M.D., ObGyn.  “This is not about abortion rights. The State of Texas is not taking away or infringing upon the rights of women to get an abortion. The State of Texas is ensuring that the rights of women to have safe medical care are upheld. At the end of the day, it is the clinics that refuse to operate according to these medical guidelines that are restricting women’s access to abortion.  It’s not the State of Texas. The State of Texas is working to protect women from  practitioners such as Kermit Gosnell.”

Publication date: October 3, 2014