Court upholds key parts of Texas' strict anti-abortion law

June 10, 2015 02:22

A federal appeals court upheld key parts of Texas's strict anti-abortion law on Tuesday, a decision that could leave as few as seven abortion clinics in the nation's second largest state.

The decision by the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals upholds requirements that abortion clinics meet hospital-level operating standards, which owners of small clinics say demand millions of dollars in upgrades they can't afford and will leave many women far from an abortion provider.

But the court said the clinics failed to prove that the restrictions would unduly burden a "large fraction" of women.

Republican Gov Greg Abbott and other conservatives say the standards protect women's health. But abortion-rights supporters say the law is a thinly veiled attempt to block access to abortions in Texas, and they promised to immediately appeal to the US Supreme Court, which temporarily sidelined the law last year.

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