These assholes aren't just anti-woman, they are anti-business.

The Fifth Circuit court of appeals is notoriously conservative. I have a hunch they'll be reversed by SCOTUS and the law blocked from taking effect pending the appeal.

@2 - maybe; but in the meantime - without an emergency injunction - can they get that while awaiting Cert? - these clinics will all be shutting down.

How many unwanted pregnancies? One hopes the clinics being shuttered in the 2/3rds of the state where they can't comply with the new regs will be coordinating a shuttle service to the remaining clinics.

One would think Republicans would have paid the ultimate price for being anti-women a long time ago but here we are at the beginning of the 21st century wondering how long they'll be able to deny basic rights to ~50% of their constituencies (and more when accounting for ethnic minorities). The brazenness of their actions is perturbing.

The clinics forced to halt abortions have been unable to satisfy a new requirement, part of a broader anti-abortion law adopted in July, that doctors performing the procedure must have formal admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the clinic.

Is that a bad thing?

Or just overzealous regulation on business, by the party that supposedly abhors such things.

I don't know if abortion is hard or easy, and should be done by professionals or not.

John Bailo is the dumbest motherfucker on the planet.

You forgot "Activist" before Federal Court in the title.

Three W.-appointed pro-life Republicans in predominantly Catholic Louisiana. What a surprising decision.

@3: yes of course they can, the plaintiffs' lawyers can (and doubtless are) submitting a request to stay the law to the SCOTUS justice responsible for the Fifth Circuit. Unfortunately in this case, that's Scalia. But a stay can still be issued if four or five justices concur (I forget the exact number.) Now, whether they will is another question. I suspect they will, since the clinics would suffer irreparable harm if the law goes into effect during the appeals process.

@9 Some clinics are already shutting down today. People working with local abortion funds are currently compiling lists of patients with appointments at those clinics to see where else they can fit them in and what extra money will be needed.

The concept of status quo is being turned on its head. A good reminder why electing a moderate executive is so important.

For those who want to help the people who will be affected by this:

lilithfund.org and teafund.org are Texas abortion funds and Fund Texas Women is a general support organization. They all desperately need money to help Texans seeking abortion care.

This country needs easier access to medication abortions. Forcing people to go to an abortion-specific clinic limits their access to begin with; shutting these clinics down means that only the rich will have access to safe abortions.

Medication abortions are the norm in Europe, and are reasonably safe. It should be possible to go to your doctor's office, get a prescription, and end your pregnancy. We have the technology.

Jeesus Keerist, Bailo. With as much useless free time you have to be reading Slog and writing fucking stupid posts, how about you um, spend some of your useless free time reading up on some particular issue BEFORE you just fucking drool idiotically all over Slog with a ridiculously stupid question.

You would learn, for example, that in fact yes, requitmring admitting privileges at a hospital does, in fact, mean abortion providers get locked out of a market.

Jesus, you fucking idiot- go back and re-read Cienna's reporting on the Catholic/Providence local hospital takeovers. Or have someone-anyone- explain it to you. You goddamn idiot.

But stop, just stop- posting your every half-baked thought on every subject to Slog. You are so utterly uninformed.

If women in Texas would just stop having sex with Republicans on the grounds that they don't want to risk pregnancy in a state where abortion is mostly outlawed, this whole thing would go away pretty damn quick.

Bailo uses Slog the way some people use twitter... if twitter allowed essay length ramblings.

@17,

Please cite that claim.

@13, @16, @17 Meanwhile, other states don't even require a doctor to perform an abortion. Vermont, New Hampshire, Montana, Oregon and California allow nurse practitioners to perform first-trimester "surgical" abortions of the suction/aspiration type. No doctors necessary at all. California allows certified midwives to do it, too, which makes perfect sense. If they can deliver a 9-lb. baby, they can manage a tiny embryo.

As for medical/medication abortions, Washington is among the states that allow Nurse Practitioners to prescribe and administer. Some states allow Physicians Assistants and Certified Nurse Midwives to, as well.

http://www.prochoice.org/pubs_research/p…

@20 The midwife's patient is the woman. That's who she's charged with protecting. An unwanted embryo does not supercede a woman's right to autonomy and good care.