As an update to an earlier blog post, thanks to a judge’s decision at least a dozen abortuaries in Texas aren’t going to be doing abortions today or for a while.  This is a good thing:

Opponents and supporters of an abortion bill demonstrated outside the Texas Capitol in July.

The Associated Press

Published: 31 October 2013 06:36 PM

Updated: 01 November 2013 12:00 AM

AUSTIN — A federal appeals court on Thursday ruled that most of Texas’ tough new abortion restrictions can take effect immediately — a decision that means at least 12 clinics won’t be able to perform the procedure starting as soon as Friday.

A panel of judges on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans said the law requiring doctors to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital can take effect while a lawsuit challenging the restrictions moves forward. The panel issued the ruling three days after District Judge Lee Yeakel said the provision serves no medical purpose and issued an injunction against it.

The appeals court panel acknowledged that the provision “may increase the cost of accessing an abortion provider and decrease the number of physicians available to perform abortions.” However, the panel said the U.S. Supreme Court has held that having “the incidental effect of making it more difficult or more expensive to procure an abortion cannot be enough to invalidate” a law that serves a valid purpose, “one not designed to strike at the right itself.”

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