MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell hears from Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, about oral arguments before the Supreme Court in a case challenging provisions of Texas' omnibus antiabortion-rights law (HB 2). The law requires abortion clinics to meet the same building standards as ambulatory surgical centers and mandates that abortion providers have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital.
Northup says, "What really came out clearly in the courtroom today is that there is no medical justification for these sham laws. The American Medical Association and other major medical groups have all said these laws do not advance women's health -- and in fact they hurt women's health because they are shutting down clinics."
She adds, "[W]e also heard that is it essential that women be able to be guaranteed the right [to abortion] that the [Supreme] Court has set. It's about women's dignity and decision-making, and that means that a law with a false pretext of health cannot stand up and impose these kind of burdens on women in the state of Texas and in the other states that have been passing them" (Mitchell, MSNBC, 3/2).
