Trial over Texas abortion law stretches into third day
The federal court trial over Texas’ new abortion regulations will enter a surprise third day Wednesday to allow for more robust closing arguments.
U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel, facing a large pile of exhibits and affidavits, adjourned the trial early Tuesday to give lawyers for abortion providers and the state attorney general’s office time to hone their arguments on the legality of House Bill 2.
“I want each side to point out to me … what parts of the evidence should I concentrate on the most,” Yeakel said. “I want arguments with specificity.”
Only five witnesses testified — all called by lawyers for abortion providers — but both sides submitted numerous declarations from medical and legal experts in lieu of live testimony. Yeakel said the stack of often lengthy declarations was at least six inches tall.
Each side will have one hour for closing arguments that will begin at 10 a.m. in the Austin federal courthouse.
Yeakel has not indicated when he will rule on the abortion providers’ request to block two key parts of HB 2 — requiring abortion doctors to gain admitting privileges from a nearby hospital and adding stricter rules on dispensing abortion-inducing drugs.
Both provisions take effect next Tuesday.
According to previous testimony, at least 13 abortion clinics will be forced to close Oct. 29 because their doctors cannot gain admitting privileges.
On Tuesday, Yeakel heard from Whole Woman’s Health officials who testified that difficulty getting admitting privileges for eight of its 11 doctors will force clinics in Fort Worth, San Antonio and McAllen to close and its Austin facility to reduce services.
Despite starting the search before Gov. Rick Perry signed the regulations into law in June, the company has had no success thus far securing admitting privileges for its doctors, said Andrea Ferrigno, corporate vice president.
The company still has applications for admitting privileges pending at 15 hospitals. Another 17 hospitals have yet to respond to inquiries or are still in the pre-application process, she said.
“It can take days to weeks to get a response,” Ferrigno said. “We call and call and call.”
Many hospitals only grant privileges to doctors who live near the hospital, while most of Whole Woman’s doctors travel to several of the company’s clinics, chief executive Amy Hagstrom Miller testified.
Hiring doctors who already have privileges is not an option, she added.
Recruiting new doctors has been one of the most demanding aspects of her job, even before HB 2 was passed, Hagstrom Miller said, because many potential doctors fear harassment or retaliation from abortion protesters or are banned from moonlighting by their practices.
As a result, most of Whole Woman’s doctors are over age 60, and half are over 70, she said.
Source: http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/local/trial-over-texas-abortion-law-stretches-into-third/nbWRh/?icmp=mystatesman_internallink_megamenu_link