WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced that California will join 13 other states and the District of Columbia in a friend-of-the-court brief, asking the Supreme Court of the United States to reverse a lower court decision in Whole Woman’s Health v. Cole that allegedly restricts access to abortion services in Texas.
The brief was written by New York. It has been signed by California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and the District of Columbia.
“Every woman has the right to make informed choices about her health and well-being,” Harris said. “I strongly urge the Supreme Court to overturn the 5th Circuit ruling, which undermines both public health and a woman’s right to choose.”
The brief argues that the 5th Circuit in Texas erred when analyzing the Texas statute that required all abortion clinics to comply with certain ambulatory standards and also requires a physician performing abortions to hold admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the operation location.
The statute led to the closure of half of Texas’ clinics and allegedly remains a threat the remaining clinics.