Background: As we all know, abortion is a very controversial topic in the United States. Abortion is something that pops up relatively frequently in Supreme Court cases, such as in the landmark case Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Currently, the Supreme Court is working on another abortion case, Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt. The case has been argued, but a decision is still awaited and is predicted to be released in June. Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt is about a Texas law known as HB2, which passed in 2013. Under this law, Texas is making it virtually impossible for women to have abortions. Texas is putting unnecessary, ridiculous requirements on women’s health providers and due to most of them not being able to meet these outrageous standards, a majority of them are being driven out of practice. Only ten facilities would be left in all of Texas, one of the most populous states, thus leaving women to travel hundreds of miles and go to further lengths to have an abortion.
http://www.scotusblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/15-274-rb.pdf (lengthy and hard to follow, but the introduction is good to read)
http://www.reproductiverights.org/case/whole-womans-health-v-hellerstedt
https://www.oyez.org/cases/2015/15-274
http://law.justia.com/constitution/us/amendment-14/31-abortion.html
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/11/a-new-supreme-court-challenge-the-erosion-of-abortion-access-in-texas/415929/
Summary: The Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade that the right to abortion falls under and is protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. That decision was upheld in Planned Parenthood v. Casey. It has already been decided that abortion is something that women are entitled to. A Texas state law has found a sort of loophole to prevent women from having abortions. Texas is a very conservative Republican state, with a majority of people being pro-life, or in other words against abortion. Since most government officials do not support abortion, they want to inflict their views on others by preventing women from having abortions. The Supreme Court, which is the supreme law of the land, has already ruled that abortion is protected under the Fourteenth Amendment and women have the right to have an abortion. The lawmakers in Texas should not be allowed to do what they are able to do under the HB2 law.
Connections to Government: This case connects to everything that we have been learning about the Supreme Court, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Specifically, it relates to precedent cases, the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court Justices, and the constitutionality of laws. It also relates to how the United States has a separation between the federal government and state governments, and how states are able to make their own laws. Although the Texas law is not specifically saying that it is making abortion legal, that is what it is indirectly doing. Texas has found a loophole to weave itself through to get around the Constitution and the rights that people are entitled to.
Analysis: Texas should not be allowed to use the HB2 law to indirectly make abortion illegal. Abortion is a right that is protected under the Fourteenth Amendment. The HB2 law is taking away Texan women’s Fourteenth Amendment rights by making it virtually impossible for them to have an abortion. Making women drive hundreds of miles across the state just to have an abortion is ridiculous, as well are the requirements that this law is placing on women’s health practitioners. Texan politicians have to get past the fact that abortion is something that is needed for women and they cannot take that right away no matter how hard they try. Under the Constitution, women have the right to privacy and abortion. I believe that the HB2 law is unconstitutional and the decision that was made in Roe v. Wade should stand. Lawmakers in Texas should not be allowed to use this loophole that they have found to prevent women from having abortions.
Questions
- What is your personal stance on this topic?
- Do you think that the HB2 law in Texas is constitutional? Why or why not?
- How do you expect the Supreme Court to rule in this case based on other precedents and the jurisprudence of the justices?
pogo2currentevents 
I am a very strong believer in women having the right to choose so I agree with the Texas law to be unconstitutional. What a woman decides to do with her body is not something that a man should decide or something that should be controlled by a law. I think that trying to find loopholes to keep women from getting abortions is something that should be prevented especially with states that are as conservative as Texas. The article in Oyez said, “One such provision required that any physician performing an abortion have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of where the abortion was performed, and another provision required that all abortion clinics comply with standards for ambulatory surgical centers.” This is making harder for women to get abortions and it’s not right to a womans decision to be harder than it already is. I think that since the law that Texas made does not directly prevent women from getting abortions, the Supreme Court would not rule the case unconstitutional. I think that the case will be based on other precedents but that the law will remain intact because a lot of the Judges are conservative and the law isn’t directly preventing abortion.
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I, personally don’t think I could undergo an abortion no matter what the circumstances are. However, i also believe women have the right to their body. I would never stop or discourage someone from getting an abortion just because I wouldn’t get one. A women’s body is their property, and their property alone. It shouldn’t matter what you’re political views are to see that you are the only one in control of your body. even though I disagree with the HB2 law, i don’t think it’s unconstitutional from my understanding. According to the Huff.Post it states, “Texas has advanced for its law, the controversial H.B.2., which requires abortion clinics to upgrade to hospital-grade facilities and abortion doctors to possess admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. This regulatory scheme threatens to shutter all but 10 clinics in the state and leave millions of women with restricted access to reproductive care”. from this, i took it as they are not preventing women from getting abortions but making it harder. While it may not be morally right to leave millions of women stranded, the law isn’t completely taking away their right to abortion. I honestly don’t know how the SCOTUS will rule in this case. At first I thought they would rule the law unconstitutional because of precedents like Roe v. Wade. However, if the law is actually just making it harder instead of actually taking away their rights… it could go either way.
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My personal stance on this topic is that all women and their families should be able to decide whether or not they want to bring a new life into this world. It should not be up to anyone, especially politicians who are deciding whether abortion should be sanctioned within a family. As the decision of Roe v. Wade was made the need to prevent women from being able to have an abortion should no longer be an issue. It was already said to be constitutional, now it is simply those who still believe that it is a debate to understand that their ideologies do not need to be considered. Just because you really believe the concept of abortion is unjust and morbid means nothing when it comes to the constitutionality of it.
I am not sure i the state law is constitutional or not because I have not read it, but it seems as though it could really go either way. In some cases it would seem that ridiculous standards would be unconstitutional because they are in an indirect way taking away women’s right. However, if the law is specifically made in which the constitutionality of having the abortion is not hindered per-say. For example if the laws make standards that ought to be met but the constitutionality of having the abortion is still legal then it could be that the state law is still legal just difficult to be met. In this manner it could really go either way on decided whether or not the Texas law is constitutional or not.
I see that the SCOTUS could really go either way on this decision. As I explained above the manner in which to see the case is very situational. The SCOTUS could see the law as being just an obstacle that the women must overcome, but it is not unconstitutional, however, they could take the opposing view and say that because of such unreasonable circumstances being presided onto these women then the law is unconstitutional. In that sense it could very easily go both ways.
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I stand very strongly with the fact that it is the woman’s choice whether she wants to have an abortion or not. It is a private health matter and women should have the right to choose whether they wish to terminate a pregnancy or not. Since I am very pro-choice I think that the HB2 law is unconstitutional. This law is unconstitutional because it is making LEGAL abortion hard to reach. Although in Roe v Wade the Supreme Court had established that abortion is legal, through the HB2 law, the state of Texas is not allowing woman to receive the health services that they require. It is clear that the HB2 law is a way for Texas to get around the Roe v Wade decision and SCOTUS should not allow this to happen. They are basically denying woman the right to their privacy and the right to choose whether they want to go through with an abortion or not. I expect SCOTUS to rule that HB2 is unconstitutional based on their previous decisions of Roe v Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. In both of these decisions the Supreme Court ruled that women have their right to choose what they want to do with their bodies. Under the 14th amendment, this means that the states, such as Texas have to respect what the Federal government says and have to honor the rights of these women. Although many can argue that HB2 is technically not making abortion illegal; by having so many requirements needed for a woman to have an abortion – and making it such a difficult progress, the state of Texas is violating the privacy of the women.
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I believe that a woman has the right to her body and should be able to have an abortion if she wants to. The HB2 law, although doesn’t necessarily ban abortions, does make it harder for women to get abortions which is a right that’s protected by the fourth amendment. I do think that the Supreme Court will most likely find this to be unconstitutional due to the precedents set in Roe v Wade and Planned Parenthood v Casey. It is hard to say for sure though because it can be argued that Texas still allows women to get abortions which was the ruling of those cases but requires the agencies to meet their high standards. If seen in that light Texas is not in the wrong and their loophole worked and with the Supreme Court being down to 8 justices with what seems like no chance of getting Merrick Garland in the last seat the vote can be split due to Justice Kennedy being a moderate. If Justice Kennedy goes with the more liberal justices then I do believe that the HB2 law will be seen as unconstitutional and set the precedent that states cannot make it harder for rights that are already established by the Supreme Court’s rulings.
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Abortion has always been a controversial topic all across America and throughout mainstream politics, which has created a massive political division. In my personal opinion, I strongly believe that it is the woman’s right to choice because it is her body. The government should not have control over what a woman chooses to do with her own body. Women should be able to make the choices they decide is fitting in regards to their own bodies and health. The HB2 law in Texas violates women’s constitutional rights because the Supreme Court decided that it was unconstitutional for a state to have a law that bans abortions/make the process extremely difficult. Although in the landmark case Roe v. Wade decision ensured that women maintain their reproductive rights, it has inspired extreme campaigning against and unnecessary violence towards organizations that provides services like abortions and access to contraceptives. The HB2 law in Texas is just another example of pro-life politicians creating loopholes in order to make sure that abortion rights are not enforced. In this particular case, I’m not sure what to expect in terms of what the Supreme Court will rule. Hopefully, they will rule it is as unconstitutional because of the set precedent cases such as Roe v. Wade that made policies banning abortion illegal. However, some could argue that technically the HB2 law does not make abortions illegal, just a more “extensive” and “thorough” process. It will be very interesting to see how the SCOUTS decides to rule in this case, and what citings they will use to back up their reasoning.
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I believe that woman should have the right to decide if they want to have an abortion or not. It seems that a lot of politicians that are against abortion are men who have no idea of the struggles a woman can face if she is pregnant and cannot support the baby. Also, involving planned parenthood, men do not understand the woman’s body, therefore why should they be allowed to dictate it? If a woman decided she needed or wanted an abortion, it shouldn’t be expensive or ridiculously difficult to get into because it should be a woman right and decision.
I do not believe the law is constitutional because in two previous supreme court cases, abortion has been considered a right, and Texas trying to make abortions for women more difficult is taking away this right. Only having about 10 abortion facilities in the state of Texas is just wrong, especially with this being such a populated state.
I believe that if they were to allow this law in Texas, it would change a lot of things in this country because, a lot of other states then would go and make abortion a lot more difficult to get. Also, it would in a way go against the other supreme court cases and anyone could try and have a case to make abortion illegal.
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I believe that a woman has the right to her body and should therefore be allowed to have an abortion if she wants. Abortion has become such a heavy and divided topic. As a young woman I feel as though the people against a woman’s right to an abortion are trying to ‘protect an individual’s right to a life’, but that life is being held by a woman who may not be ready for that or cannot have the baby for health reasons. A woman can choose to have an abortion according to a quote from the Reproductive Rights website sited, “These matters, involving the most intimate and personal choices a person may make in a lifetime, choices central to personal dignity and autonomy, are central to the liberty protected by the 14th Amendment”. Having or not having a child is a personal choice that is made by the individual having the baby and people should not be allowed to prevent women from having that right. Texas is trying to weasel its way around abortion by allowing women to have abortions, but making it incredibly difficult to do so. The law in Texas is unconstitutional because it 1. prevents an individual from having the care she needs and 2. therefore would be going against selective incorporation (14th Amendment). The Supreme Court will most likely decide this case on a mixture of precedent and jurisprudence of the judges because they all have different personal beliefs when it comes to abortion, but they still need to be unbiased and make a just decision.
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In my opinion, abortion should be a right given to all women in the country. Women all over the country should have the right to do with their body as they please. Especially since it was ruled unconstitutional to take away the right of abortion from women in America, by Supreme Court of the United States, no state should have the jurisdiction to take away this right from women no matter how pro choice the state may be. I think it is extremely constitutionally for Texas to make a law that prevents women from having abortions. If Texas can make law against abortion then that would make the supreme court pointless and unnecessary. At that point any state can make a law that contradicted Supreme Court decisions . This would the whole branch pointless.I would expect for them to rule that this is unconstitutional for Texas to do . Because otherwise this would allow any state to make a law against abortion or any other Supreme Court decision for that matter. This law should be struck down just as any other law would be if it went against a previous decision.
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My personal stance on this topic is that everyone can choose what they want to do with their own bodies and with their own lives. If someone is not ready to have a child, or no matter what the circumstance is, they should have the option to have an abortion. Personally I think if the baby is not alive and kicking then abortion should not be labeled as murder. I think having an abortion would be extremely emotional for some people but in some cases it is just necessary. I don’t think that the HB2 law in Texas is constitutional because it is taking away the rights of woman to do what they want with their own lives. I expect the Supreme Court to go through with this law because of past cases of abortion, but I certainly hope that the law doesn’t pass.
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Abortion is a right that is protected under the Fourteenth Amendment. I have many different views on abortions and I think they are to be used to an extent. I believe that any woman should be able to choose what she does with her body and the government should have absolutely no choice to make a woman do something that she doesn’t want to. Completely eliminating abortions all together is something I believe is unconstitutional because it’s our rights. But if people are abusing the use of a abortions, they should not be available unless it is an emergency situation. The HB2 law is taking away the women of Texas’s Fourteenth Amendment rights by making it basically impossible for them to have an abortion by making them drive hundreds of miles across the state to do so. Because Texas is so populated, having 10 faculties throughout the whole state is just not right. I expect that the Supreme Court will pass this law based on the other precedents and jurisprudences of the justices based on the past, but I really hope that it doesn’t pass because woman should be able to do what they please.
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Personally I do not support the stance that Texas is trying to take. I understand their perception on the question however I stand very strongly with the fact that it is the woman’s choice whether she wants to have an abortion or not. It is a private health matter and women should have the right to choose whether they wish to terminate a pregnancy or not. SCOTUS ruled that it was unconstitutional to take away the right of abortion from women in America, therefore no state should have the jurisdiction to take away this right from women no matter how pro choice the state may be. I think that the HB2 law in Texas is unconstitutional simply because it is taking away the women’s rights and it violates the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment. I expect SCOTUS to rule against this case, sticking to their past rulings of given women their own rights.
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I believe that everyone has the right to an abortion, its their own decision because its their body. Its a right protected by the 14th amendment. Our bodies are our properties. There are certain circumstances abortions should be used in. If a women needs an abortion for specific reasons she should be able to get it and not be prevented from getting an abortion. Its a women right. I think that the HB2 law is somewhat unconstitutional because its not illegal to get an abortion. Its women rights to be able to have an abortion, for the right reasons of course and its totally unfair that a women would have to travel such a far distance in order to get the abortion. Since most of the government officials don’t support abortion based on other precedents and jurisprudence of the justices, I think the law will pass even though its certainly unfair to women who would need to have an abortion. I don’t think this law should pass but it probably will based on past cases and the disagreement with abortion between the government officials.
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I believe the government has absolutely no say in what a woman does with her body. If a woman wants to eat a quarter pounder but I am a health nut,yes I have the freedom of speech to advocate my opinion but in no way do I have the authority to infringe on her rights and take that away based on my personal stance. The government should have no say in a woman decision to her ability to reproduce. Her body is her decision and a male dominated state legislature I personally do not believe have the experience nor perspective to make such decisions.
I think one could argue that the HB2 law is constitutional because it’s not denying a woman the right to an abortion. However it is extremely limiting her ability to do so especially if they live in different socioeconomic settings or parts of the state where there access is increasingly limited. I think a woman would be able to argue that it is against her rights to take that away a from her solely based on their personal appearance.
I think SCOTUS will say that it is unconstitutional to do this because of the groundbreaking Roe v. Wade decision alongside with Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
I do not believe they will stand by a law that poles holes on the constitution and other precedents. Hopefully my prediction is right so that women who need this medicinal care are able to receive it regardless of what their Governor personal belief. I also believe that this group of justices will take a liberal view on these things despite the chief justice’s views
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My personal stance on this topic is that abortion should be legal because a women has a right to privacy and abortion (through Roe v. Wade). There are many circumstances where abortion is needed, like danger to the mother or victims of rape, and therefore I think that getting an abortion should be able to be easily achieved. In one of these cases, a woman has already gone through an enormous amount of stress and there is no need to add on to it by making them travel hundreds of miles to get something they need. In the Huntington Post article Kiley posted it states, “… H.B.2., which requires abortion clinics to upgrade to hospital-grade facilities and abortion doctors to possess admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. This regulatory scheme threatens to shutter all but 10 clinics in the state and leave millions of women with restricted access to reproductive care.” This is extremely upsetting to see that people are going to substantial lengths to prevent something that doesn’t effect them at all. Although, even though I do NOT agree with the HB2 law in Texas, I do think that it is still constitutional, which is extremely upsetting. I think it’s constitutional because it does not take away a woman’s right to abortion. Yes, it does make it extremely difficult to get one but if you look just at the Constitution’s words, the HB2 act is constitutional because they are not completely taking away the woman’s right to get an abortion. Thus, I think the Supreme Court is going to rule that the HB2 act is constitutional for the reasons stated prior, if they do their job the correct way and only look at the text of the constitution.
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I feel that even if there is a loophole that’ll allow Texas to ban abortions from happening, it isn’t fair. It goes against the 14th Amendment, and it is the right of a person to do whatever they want to their body. Abortions are for those people who can’t take care of kids or who don’t want kids, and by banning abortions, there’ll be a lot more child births that happen to people who can’t afford to take care of a child. I believe that abortion should be legal everywhere, mostly because teen pregnancies do happen, and rape also happens. We can’t have a no-abortion law which’ll force women to give birth to babies conceived through rape. The HB2 law is definitely unconstitutional. It goes against the 14th Amendment right of the people of the United States. It is basically forcing everyone who gets pregnant to go through with the pregnancy and to give birth to a baby that they might not be ready for. I feel as if the SCOTUS should rule against the HB2 case, because of it’s unconstitutionality. It goes against the rights of the people involved, and it shouldn’t be passed due to the fact that it has the capability of ruining many people’s lives.
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Abortion is a very controversial topic because of the question of whether or not it is ok to kill a human. Although I am unsure of where I stand on this issue, I believe that it is every woman’s right to be able to get an abortion or contraceptives, if she feels she isn’t ready to bring a child into the world. Because of the previous precedents set, the HB2 law in Texas seems to be a bit unconstitutional, violating a woman’s 14th amendment right of life, liberty and property which is essentially her own body. Although they are making it harder for a woman to get abortions not telling them that they can’t have them, not having the quick access to it can mean potentially going out of the period where the child has not been developed yet. What I mean by this is that it is said that you could have an abortion before a few months into the pregnancy. If for example a woman meets with a doctor for an abortion but has to wait due to these Laws, she can pass that period and if she decides to still go through with it, it could be dangerous for her and also the baby because it will be actually formed/with life. In the articles in mentions that this process could take up to 5 appointments with these laws intact. Meaning that a woman could either change her mind or still want to not have the baby, actually killing something that has been formed. I believe that the Supreme Court is going to rule as they have done before stating that these women have the right to have abortions because it is their right of property. They will do the ruling not mentioning that they are violating their rights by telling them not to but by being in the middle of them having access to it.
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I believe that abortion should be legal throughout the whole United States to an extent. There should be a cap on how pregnant you are and when you should be allowed to abort. A women is entitled to what she does to her own body and it is not right for other people to decide what woman are allowed to do and what they are not allowed to do. I do not believe that the HB2 law is constitutional because it goes against peoples rights to freely choose what they want to do. Since cases against this same topic went for abortion or limiting it to an extent, I believe that the Supreme Court should take past cases into consideration. It takes an unnecessary amount of time to debate and look over these cases and I think that it should come to an end.
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I believe that abortions should be legal because women are entitled to do what they want with their body if they believe it is going to impact their life in a negative way. I also believe that abortions should be legal because depending on the circumstance, it may not have been the women’s fault as to why she got pregnant. Therefore, she shouldn’t have to take responsibility for something if it wasn’t under her control. There should be no law enacted telling anyone what they can or cannot do to their body. If a person decides to not bring a child into this world, that is not affecting the rest of the U.S, which is why I don’t understand the big deal about abortions. The HB2 law in Texas is technically not unconstitutional because it does not deny women the right to an abortion or explicitly say so. It just makes it harder for women to have one, based on the new restrictions. This is morally wrong and politically evil, but not unconstitutional. I expect the Supreme Court to rule in favor of the plaintiffs because the precedents for this case had to do with completely stopping abortion. This case has to do with limiting abortions, which isn’t the same thing.
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3.How do you expect the Supreme Court to rule in this case based on other precedents and the jurisprudence of the justices?
My personal stance on abortion is that a women has a right to her own privacy of what goes on in her own badly. Also as stated in the Roe v. Wade, in the first three months of pregnancy the mother has a right to terminate the pregnancy for any reason. I do not believe the HB2 law is constitutional because it is undermining federal law and denies the pregnant women their right of life, liberty and happiness by forcing them to bear a burden known as a child. I do not know what the supreme court will rule but I hope they uphold the supreme rule of the federal government over the state government.
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When it comes to abortion, I personally do not support it. However, I do not think that it is the governments job to decide what women should do with their bodies. Women should have the right to an abortion, because it is their body. I do not believe that the HB2 law in Texas is constitutional because it does not explicitly state that women do not have the right to an abortion. In my opinion, it is just a loophole to prevent women in Texas from getting abortions. I expect the Supreme Court to rule in this case based on other precedents and the jurisprudence of the justices by banning this law, since is basically prevents women in Texas from getting an abortion without explicit stating it. If not, almost all the states could pass a law similar to the HB2 law in Texas and make abortions illegal all throughout the country.
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Personally, I do not think that abortion should be a political topic at all. It regards to woman and woman only and is about their health. If a woman was raped, not financially stable, or whatever the case may be then she should have the right to get one. I think that there should be a week/month limit where it becomes illegal to have an abortion. In all, I just think that abortion should be legal because it’s your body. The HB2 HB2 is a law in Texas that makes it almost impossible for women to have abortions. Only 10 places to have it done would remain open and many other negative effects would go along with it too. Technically, the law in not unconstitutional because it does not clearly deny women the right to an abortion, It just makes it harder for women to have one. I’m not totally sure how the supreme court will rule this case. HB2 is not denying abortions but it does deny abortions without it being in the law. It could go either way.
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