SCOTUS
By Cheryl Sullenger
Washington, D.C. – Operation Rescue’s research and data related to abortion abuses has been heavily cited in at least two amici curiae briefs that were filed with the U.S. Supreme Court on February 3, 2016, in a case that will consider the Constitutionality of a Texas abortion safety law known as HB2.
An amici curiae brief has been filed on behalf of Operation Rescue by the Liberty Counsel in Whole Women’s Health v. Hellerstedt, Case 15-274.
The brief emphasizes that the Supreme Court should protect women, not abortion.
“We are gratified that at least two amicus briefs have drawn upon our data in support of their arguments that abortion poses serious risks to women and that the Abortion Cartel has whitewashed those dangers,” said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue. “The Texas law at issue is a correct and measured response to many of the abuses our own investigations have uncovered. We are thankful to the Liberty Counsel for preparing a brief on our behalf and to the American Center for Law and Justice for relying so heavily upon our data in support of protection for women.”
The Texas abortion licensing and safety law has already closed 20 substandard abortion facilities in Texas and significantly reduced abortion numbers.
In Operation Rescue’s brief, the Liberty Counsel notes that HB2, which requires physicians to maintain hospital privileges within 30 miles of their abortion facilities among other provisions, is the appropriate response to health and safety risks posed by previously unaccountable abortion centers and is necessary to protect women from harm.
The Liberty Counsel frequently cites investigations and other data from Operation Rescue documenting poor facility conditions, the illegal disposal of recognizable aborted baby remains, and violations to the Texas 24-hour waiting period and informed consent laws.
Based on Operation Rescue’s regulatory complaints, the abortion company that brought the challenge to the Texas law, Whole Women’s Health, was heavily filed and two of its abortionists were disciplined for violations uncovered during Operation Rescue’s investigations, as cited by the Liberty Counsel in the amici curiae brief.
In addition, the brief notes that additional data gathered by Operation Rescue in December during a meticulous survey of every abortion facility in the country, verified that the average wait time for an abortion as well as the average cost for an abortion in Texas falls below the national average in both categories, even though half of the state’s abortion clinics have shut down.
“Operation Rescue’s investigation refutes Petitioners’ ‘parade of horribles’ in which they claim that women will have to wait weeks for abortions if HB2 is upheld by the Court,” the brief stated.
The American Center for Law and Justice filed a brief on behalf of the Family Research Council and others that heavily relies upon information published by Operation Rescue.
The ACLJ’s brief strongly makes the point that abortion is not safe based on documentation that shows throngs of women have suffered life-threatening medical emergencies that required hospital transport and that some have even died as a result of abortion complications done in substandard, unaccountable facilities.
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments in the Whole Women’s Health v. Hellerstedt case on March 2, 2016, with a decision expected sometime in June.
Read Liberty Counsel’s Brief for Operation Rescue
Read the American Center for Law and Justice Brief