In 2013, former Texas governor Rick Perry signed into law House Bill 2, a bill that holds the abortion industry to the same standards as medical facilities. The law has been challenged, and recently the Supreme Court has agreed to take the case, with oral arguments set to begin in March.
On Wednesday, two separate amicus briefs were filed in favor of HB 2 and signed by several prominent politicians. The first, filed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott and signed by nine other governors (including one Democrat) highlights the effects of HB 2 on improving women’s health by holding providers accountable.
The brief states:
The Governors have a substantial interest in enforcing and defending laws aimed at improving health outcomes for women seeking abortions. Many States have enacted laws like House Bill 2 to improve the standard of care at abortion clinics, particularly at less-reputable clinics that operate at the margins of medical practice.
A second brief, signed by 34 senators and 140 House members led by Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, argues that the health standards enforced by HB 2 protect women from “unscrupulous doctors in unsanitary, under-regulated clinics.”
In a Wednesday statement, Cruz said:
… the Texas Legislature enacted H.B. 2, just like other state legislatures across the country, to ensure that abortion clinics are held to the same medical standards as other medical facilities. But even this common sense regulation for the protection of women is too much for the abortion lobby, which has challenged the regulation all the way to the Supreme Court. For the most zealous abortion advocates, nothing—not even women’s health—can be allowed to stand in the way of abortion-on-demand.
