Pro-life supporters got a boost Thursday night when a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against a judge who had tried to block abortion restrictions in Texas.
The restrictions required a doctor performing abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital no more than 30 miles from where he was performing the abortion. A federal district court judge in Austin had ruled against the restriction on Monday, the day before the restrictions were to be implemented, but the state appealed the decision and the three judges ruled that the restrictions were legal.
Pro-choice groups had claimed one-third of Texas’ 36 abortion clinics would be shut down because of the restrictions.
The panel ruled that the restrictions guaranteed that the doctors performing the abortions had credentials that were up-to-date, thus ensuring safety for the patients.
The appeals panel also reinstated the restriction for availability of non-surgical abortions using a two-pill system.
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