Why the Supreme Court's Abortion Decision Is So Important

Pro-choice protesters at the Supreme Court. Photo by Patsy Lynch/MediaPunch/IPX

On Monday, the US Supreme Court made a landmark ruling that represented a major victory for pro-choice activists. In a 5–3 decision, the justices struck down a Texas law that imposed strict new rules on clinics and doctors that performed abortions—rules that forced many clinics to close and made it much more difficult for many women in the state to access safe abortions.

Those restrictions, Justice Stephen Breyer wrote in the majority opinion, created an "undue burden on abortion access." And the ramifications of Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt will be felt far beyond the Lone Star State.

Basically, Hellerstedt pushes back on the last major Supreme Court case to tackle abortion: 1992's Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Back then, the court decided that states could place restrictions on abortion access, provided they didn't result in an "undue burden" on women. Conservative legislators then began to test those waters, passing laws mandating waiting periods and ultrasounds. In Texas's case, the new law required abortion clinics to meet the same standards as hospitals and forced abortion doctors to gain admitting privileges to nearby hospitals. Those onerous demands had an immediate effect: When the law passed in 2013, there were about 40 places one could get an abortion in Texas; today there are about 20.

The Hellerstedt decision held that that was taking things too far, and it marks the first time the Supreme Court has defined what an "undue burden" looks like—basically, it's a signal to lawmakers that they can't simply make up whatever rules they like in the name of limiting abortions.

To get a sense of what this would mean for both sides of the never-ending legal and political battle over abortions, I called up Carol Sanger, a professor at Columbia Law School and an expert in reproductive rights.

VICE: Were you surprised by this decision?
Carol Sanger: Well I was very hopeful about it. I'm not sure I'm surprised. But I thought the points were grasped so well and I thought benefit women or not.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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