STATEMENT: In June Medical Services Case, the U.S. Supreme Court Should Uphold Precedent From Whole Woman's Health
Press Statement Oct 4, 2019
Colin Seeberger
Advancing Racial Equity and Justice, Restoring Social Trust in Democracy, Courts, Women's Issues+1 More
Julia Cusick
Vice President, Communications
jcusick@americanprogress.org
Director, Federal Affairs
pgordon@americanprogress.org
Jerry Parshall
Senior Director, Safety and Justice Campaign; Director, State and Local Government Affairs
jparshall@americanprogress.org
Madeline Shepherd
mshepherd@americanprogress.org
Emma Lofgren
Associate Director, State and Local Government Affairs
elofgren@americanprogress.org
Washington, D.C. — Today, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a petition for writ of certiorari in June Medical Services v. Gee, a case centered on a Louisiana targeted regulation of abortion providers (TRAP) law. The decision to hear the case follows a 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision that ignored the precedent established by the U.S. Supreme Court in Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt and would result in the closure of clinics across the state—leaving just one provider in Louisiana to serve nearly 1 million women of reproductive age. Shilpa Phadke, vice president of the Women's Initiative at the Center for American Progress, released the following statement on the decision:
Safe, legal abortion is already hard, if not impossible, to obtain for many women in this country—particularly women of color and low-income women. June Medical Services threatens to empower politicians to interfere in the patient-provider relationship and dramatically restrict access to needed care, despite the fact that the Supreme Court ruled just three years ago that a nearly identical TRAP law in Texas was unconstitutional. If the Supreme Court upholds the Louisiana law and overturns precedent, it would erode Americans' confidence in the independence of the judiciary and further prove the impact of conservatives' strategy to pack the court with ideologues. This decision, just days before Brett Kavanaugh's first anniversary on the court, should be a reminder not only of the responsibility justices have to rule fairly but also of the responsibility of senators to only vote to confirm judicial nominees dedicated to upholding basic civil rights.
For more information on this topic or to speak with an expert, please contact Colin Seeberger at cseeberger@americanprogress.org or 202-741-6292.