The U.S. Supreme Court has issued its first major ruling in an abortion case in nine years. And ISU Political Scientist Meghan Leonard said five of the justices did not buy any of the argument from the state of Texas that a law regulating abortion clinics was intended to safeguard public health.
She said they saw through that and found the legislation intended to make it hard for clinics to operate and was an undue regulatory burden.
"In the future the Supreme Court, relying on this case as precedent, will be much more likely to strike down any abortion restrictions and certainly more likely than anybody thought they would be before this decision," said Leonard.
Leonard cautioned the ultimate reach of the case depends on who becomes President next year and makes the next appointment of a justice to the Supreme Court.
She said the ruling immediately reaches far beyond the Lone Star state.
"It is not just about Texas. Many other states have similar laws which will be thrown away in the aftermath," said Leonard.
But, supporters of the Texas Law say keeping abortion providers accountable should not be a political wedge issue and that the ruling shows more work needs to happen in the cause of life and human dignity.
Activists claimed the Texas law had no medical value in keeping abortion safe, but merely restricted access to the procedure.
Anti abortion forces said the ruling hurts children and families.
