The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas on Wednesday sent a letter to the Department of State Health Services (DSHS), calling on the agency to "stop concealing" 2014 data on abortion provision in the state, the Texas Tribune reports.
The letter comes as the Supreme Court this month is set to issue a ruling on a case challenging parts of Texas' omnibus antiabortion-rights law (HB 2) (Pattani, Texas Tribune, 6/15).
Background
The case, Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt, centers on two provisions of the law. One provision requires abortion clinics in the state to meet the same building standards as ambulatory surgical centers, and the other requires abortion providers to have admitting privileges at local hospitals.
The Center for Reproductive Rights, which represents the group of abortion providers challenging the law, argues that HB 2 is unconstitutional, creates an undue burden for Texas women who live far away from the nearest clinic and does not promote the state's interest in improving health. If the court rules for the state, the number of clinics will fall to about 10, compared with about 40 before the law took effect.
The case centers on the meaning of the Supreme Court's 1992 ruling in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which held that states cannot place an "undue burden" on abortion access. Under the Casey precedent, a law is unconstitutional "if its purpose or effect is to place substantial obstacles in the path of a woman seeking an abortion before the fetus attains viability."
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Whole Woman's Health in March (Women's Health Policy Report, 3/3).
Letter details
ACLU of Texas sent the letter to DSHS Commissioner John Hellerstedt, alleging that the state is purposely concealing data showing how many women sought abortion care in the state in 2014, the abortion methods used and the facilities they visited for care, directly evading the Texas Public Information Act.
According to ACLU of Texas, the 2014 abortion data is important because that was the first full year during which the state implemented provisions under HB 2. The organization said releasing the data could help inform public debate.
The Tribune reports that during oral arguments for Whole Woman's Health, Justice Anthony Kennedy weighed whether it would be helpful to remand the case back to the lower court to gather more data on how the law affected abortion access in the state.
In the letter, ACLU of Texas wrote, "It has come to our attention that your agency completed the relevant statistical tables in March 2016 ... Since that time, upper-level supervisors within DSHS have instructed employees to mislead the public about whether these statistical tables are complete, and to refrain from sending email about the statistics in order to avoid creating a paper trail." According to the Tribune, state officials in March released preliminary data showing a 14.2 percent decline in the number of abortions provided in the state in 2014.
ACLU of Texas said it would consider filing a legal challenge if DSHS does not release the data. "Should you fail to comply with this request within a reasonable time, we will explore all available legal options to vindicate the rights and principles protected by the Texas Public Information Act," the letter stated.
Comments
Terri Burke, executive director for ACLU of Texas, said she believes the information has not been made publicly available because it could show the harmful ramifications of HB 2. She said, "The [claim] behind HB 2 was that it was going to provide new protections for women's health ... If HB 2 actually had that effect, I would think they would have rushed to get that data out to the public."
DSHS said it has not released the information because it is not yet complete (Texas Tribune, 6/15).
