The U.S. Supreme Court this week successfully put and end to the state of Texas' end run around Roe v. Wade.
The Texas law, passed in special session in 2013 after a notionally-publicized filibuster by Fort Worth Democrat Wendy Davis blocked action during the regular Legislative term, required that abortions had to be performed in clinics with hospital-grade surgical facilities. It also required that doctors who perform the procedure have hospital admitting privileges within 30 miles.
Needless to say many clinics could not meet the requirements, and about half of those operating in the state shut down.
Texas Republican lawmakers said the law was intended to protect women's health and safety.
Right.
The law was a clever tactic in the war against legal abortion. Nothing more. Everybody knew it-even the Republicans. They just weren't admitting anything.
The nation's highest court didn't buy the sham.
The vote was 5 to 3, with Justice Anthony Kennedy joining the liberal wing to strike down the law. That's means even if conservative Justice Antonin Scalia were still alive, the outcome would have been the same.
"The surgical center requirement, like the admitting-privileges requirement, provides few, if any, health benefits for women, poses a substantial obstacle to women seeking abortions, and constitutes an 'undue burden' on their constitutional right to do so," Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote in the majority ruling.
For those who are pro-life-as we are-the ruling is a disappointment, but does not come as a surprise. Texas took a chance with this novel approach. There were never any guarantees it would pass Constitutional muster.
Now it's back to the drawing board. We wish the Lone Star State better luck next time. And we are sure there will be a next time.