In a 5-3 decision today, the Supreme Court of the United States in Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt, No. 15-275, slip op. (June 27, 2016) reversed a decision of the Fifth Circuit and overturned as unconstitutional a Texas law that (1) required abortion providers to have "active admitting privileges" at a hospital within 30 miles of the location at which they provide abortions and (2) required abortion facilities to meet standards adopted for ambulatory surgery centers. The Court wrote that each of the requirements "places a substantial obstacle in the path of women seeking a previability abortion, each constitutes an undue burden on abortion access, and each violates the Federal Constitution." A team of Duane Morris attorneys, including Philip H. Lebowitz, Erin M. Duffy, Katharyn I. Christian McGee, Alison Taylor Rosenblum, and Erica Fruiterman, filed an amicus curiae brief on behalf of medical staff professionals in support of petitioners Whole Woman's Health et al. In its decision, the Supreme Court cited Duane Morris' amicus brief, noting, "Other amicus briefs filed here set forth without dispute other common prerequisites to obtaining admitting privileges that have nothing to do with ability to perform medical procedures." The brief was one of only a handful of amici curiae briefs cited in the decision out of a total of 41 such briefs filed on behalf of petitioners.
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