US Supreme Court Delivers A Huge Win For Abortion Rights

Today's 5-to-3 Supreme Court decision was the institution's most sweeping statement on abortion rights since Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992. The majority of justices were generally skeptical of abortion restrictions in a restrictive Texas law that theoretically made the medical procedure -- which is far safer than a colonoscopy and almost any other medical procedure -- safer for women. Instead, the majority of justices found that Texas had crossed the line, placing an "undue burden" on Texas women seeking to exercise their abortion rights.  The Texas law -- which has been adopted in other states -- already reduced the number of medical health facilities offering abortion services in half. Had it stood, the number would have declined to about 10 for a 2013 high of about 40.

The decision on Monday means that similar restrictions in other states are most likely also unconstitutional. The opinion was so detailed and encompassing that it imperils many other kinds of restrictions on abortion.

Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote the majority opinion, joined by Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. dissented. Roberts and Alito wanted to send the law back to the lower court to hammer out the problems whereas Thomas accepted the law in its current form.