“We Stopped the Sham!”: From the Steps of the Supreme Court
On June 27, 2016, the United States Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional the key provisions of Texas’s anti-choice law disputed in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt. The 5-3 ruling was a comprehensive victory for pro-choice activists and abortion providers who believed the provisions, which required abortion providers to maintain admitting privileges at local hospitals and clinics to meet hospital-grade architectural standards, were an undue burden for those seeking abortion care.
Amy Hagstrom Miller, founder and CEO of Whole Woman’s Health, said of the three-year battle to preserve Texans’ rights to reproductive health care following the decision: “From day one, Whole Woman’s Health rejected HB 2’s insulting premise, and we fought back. We took on the bully politicians, we struggled every day since then against anti-choice, regressive policies and our opposition’s best efforts to shut us down. …
“For women in Texas and all across the country, this victory means we can finally end the pain and punishment of HB 2 and laws like it: the delayed care, higher costs, and impossible choices that women face when they’re denied quality, compassionate abortion care. Sadly, we won’t be able to restore access overnight. As our clinics were forced to close, we had to lay off staff. We had to let go of leases. We had to dismantle operations, we had to surrender our licenses from the state. As always, Whole Women’s Health will do everything we can to rebuild for the women we serve, and we will need the community’s help to do so. Even so, some of the harm cannot be undone, certainly not the harm inflicted on the women who had to be turned away over the past three years. Beyond that, there are other restrictions similar to HB 2 that must end. It’s time to pass state and federal laws so that a woman has access to a high quality clinic in her community, so that she can afford abortion, and so she doesn’t face shame and stigma when she seeks that care.”