
About the Case
On Monday, June 29, 2020, the Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana law in the Center for Reproductive Rights’ case—June Medical Services, LLC v. Russo—protecting abortion access for the people of Louisiana.
The law at the center of this case would have prevented doctors from providing abortion services unless they had secured admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles.
This is a victory for the people of Louisiana and the rule of law, but this case never should have gotten this far.
The Louisiana law is identical to a restriction the Court struck down as unconstitutional in a 2016 case, Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, also litigated by the Center for Reproductive Rights. The Supreme Court has demonstrated that the rule of law still matters by striking down Louisiana’s law.
Louisiana’s law is part of a decades-long effort by anti-abortion politicians to push abortion care out of reach by passing hundreds of medically unnecessary laws designed to shame patients, intimidate providers, and make it difficult, if not impossible for abortion clinics to operate. The Court was right to strike down Louisiana’s law, but there are hundreds more just like it, and anti-abortion politicians are still working to pass more. We can’t turn a blind eye to the threat of future abortion restrictions.
Now, more than ever, we need Congress to safeguard access to abortion care and pass the Women’s Health Protection Act. WHPA establishes a right to access abortion care by creating a safeguard against bans and medically unnecessary restrictions on abortion that apply to no similar medical care.
Check out the timeline and resources below to learn about how we got here.
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Jun 27
2016June 27, 2016
The Supreme Court strikes down Texas’ Admitting Privileges law as unconstitutional in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt and strongly rejects unnecessary health regulations that restrict access to abortion.
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Apr 7, 2017
Justice Neil Gorsuch is confirmed to the Supreme Court, filling Justice Scalia’s vacant seat.
Apr 7
2017 -
Apr 26
2017Apr 26, 2017
A federal district court in Louisiana strikes down Louisiana’s Admitting Privileges law as unconstitutional under Whole Woman’s Health.
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Jun 27, 2018
Justice Anthony Kennedy, one of the five-Justice majority in Whole Woman’s Health, announces his retirement.
Jun 27
2018 -
Sep 26
2018 -
Oct 6, 2018
Justice Brett Kavanaugh is confirmed to the Supreme Court, filling Justice Kennedy’s seat.
Oct 6
2018 -
Jan 18
2019Jan 18, 2019
Fifth Circuit denies rehearing en banc by a 9-6 vote over 2 dissents pointing out that LA’s law is identical to the TX law struck down in Whole Woman’s Health.
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Jan 25, 2019
Plaintiff clinics (represented by the Center for Reproductive Rights) ask the Supreme Court for an emergency stay to block enforcement of the law, or else only one doctor would remain able to provide abortions in LA.
Jan 25
2019 -
Feb 7
2019Feb 7, 2019
By a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court grants the clinics’ request to temporarily stop the law from taking effect while the clinics seek Supreme Court review. Justice Kavanaugh writes a dissent.
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Apr 17, 2019
Medical providers petition the Supreme Court to reverse the Fifth Circuit’s decision to uphold the law, which is in direct conflict with SCOTUS’s opinion in a previous admitting privileges case—Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt.
Apr 17
2019 -
May 20
2019May 20, 2019
Leading mainstream medical groups like American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and former federal judges and Department of Justice officials, file briefs asking the Supreme Court to reverse the Fifth Circuit’s decision.
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May 20, 2019
Louisiana petitions the Supreme Court, seeking to upend decades of settled Supreme Court case law permitting doctors to challenge anti-abortion laws on behalf of their patients.
May 20
2019 -
Jun 24
2019Jun 24, 2019
Several anti-abortion groups and states that oppose abortion rights file amicus briefs supporting Louisiana.
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Jul 19
2019 -
Aug 23
2019 -
Oct 4, 2019
The Supreme Court announces it will hear the case this term, bringing the fight for abortion rights back to the nation’s highest court.
Oct 4
2019 -
Mar 4
2020Mar 4, 2020
Supreme Court hears oral arguments from both sides—the Center for Reproductive Rights and the state of Louisiana.
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Jun 29, 2020
The Supreme Court strikes down Louisiana’s abortion restriction law as unconstitutional, protecting abortion access in the state.
Jun 29
2020