U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court on Monday is due to release its long-awaited ruling on abortion in a case that will decide how far Texas politicians can go in regulating clinics in the state.
But some court watchers say expectations for a clear ruling are overly optimistic, and that what’s more likely to come is a “punt” in the form of a compromise, until after the presidential election and Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat is filled.
If the lower court’s ruling is upheld – and a 4-4 tie would do just that – then all clinics in Texas that perform abortions must operate under the label as “ambulatory surgical centers,” and would therefore be subject to the same health standards as hospitals. The ruling could also mean doctors who perform abortions have to obtain privileges to work at hospitals. Critics say both mandates could lead to more difficulty in women obtaining abortions.
A 4-4 tie would also mean states with other similar provisions in place for abortion clinics, like Louisiana and Mississippi, would be able to continue to impose their standards. But it wouldn’t likely lead to a legal precedent for the nation at-large, legal minds said. As Fox News reported: “The Supreme Court could later hear new arguments in the case, when a ninth justice has been sworn in to replace the late Antonin Scalia.”
Oral arguments at the Supreme Court in March, when the Texas standards on clinics were stayed, until issuance of the ruling, focused on the ultimate impact on clinics, said Thomas Dupree, a former top Justice Department official in the George W. Bush administration.
“There was a lot of talk at arguments about what impact this has on clinics,” Dupree said, in Fox News. “So it could be the court is working behind the scenes to fashion some sort of compromise resolution where they basically punt, at least for the time being, on the constitutional issue and send the case back for more evidence gathering.”
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