Louisiana upheld a law Wednesday mandating that abortion facilities in the state have admitting privileges at local hospitals.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled 2-1 to uphold a law requiring abortion doctors to have privileges with hospitals within 30 miles of the abortion clinic so the doctor might admit a patient to a hospital in cases where further medical attention is necessary, Reuters reported Thursday.
“There is no evidence that any of the clinics will close as a result of the Act,” the appeals court said in its ruling.
A plaintiff in the case that preceded the ruling included abortion provider Hope Medical Group for Women. The abortion facility offers abortion services up to 16 weeks in pregnancy. The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals’ secretary was the defendant in the case, Reuters reported.
Abortion advocates allege the law puts an undue burden on women and is an attempt to curtail women’s access to abortion, while supporters of the law maintain it is a measure intended to keep women who are getting abortions safe.
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis ruled in early September that Missouri can enforce its laws requiring abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at a hospital or ambulatory surgical center local to the abortion facility. The ruling overturned a lower court’s 2017 ruling that barred the state from enforcing these laws, according to Reuters.
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