NBC journalists on Monday morning excitedly broke in with a special report to announce a “big win” for abortion as the “very controversial” Texas law had been struck down. Regarding the efforts by the state to require abortion clinics to meet certain standards, Pete Williams breathlessly alerted, “The state passed the law known as HB2 with a very controversial vote and the state said it was necessary to protect women's health.”
He offered, “This is a big win for advocates of abortion rights. the Supreme Court by a 5-3 vote has struck down what was arguably the toughest abortion law in the country.” The Texas law had previously won at the appeals level. Williams derided that decision in light of today’s results:
PETE WILLIAMS: The appeals court here set a low bar. You are right, the rule here for well over a quarter of a century have been the states can restrict abortion as long as it's not an undo burden on the woman's right to choose. What the appeals court said here is, "Don't— Courts don't look very closely at that. If the legislature comes up with a rational basis. That is good enough. Close your eyes and accept it." And the Supreme Court said that's not the analysis.
Over on ABC, Terry Moran swooned over the Court’s ruling, saying, “It’s a party here [near the protesters]."
See transcript below:
Breaking news on NBC
6/27/16
10:07am to 10:10:16MATT LAUER: This is an NBC News special report. Just moments ago the Supreme Court handed down its decision on a challenge to one of the nation's toughest restrictions on abortion. NBC justice correspondent, Pete Williams is outside the Court. People are calling it the most significant ruling on abortion in 25 years. Pete, what happened?
PETE WILLIAMS: This is a big win for advocates of abortion rights. the Supreme Court by a 5-3 vote has struck down what was arguably the toughest abortion law in the country. This was a Texas law that said abortion clinics had to be billed to the architectural standards that were the same as walk-in surgical centers, and doctors had to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. When the law was passed, the number of abortion clinics in Texas went from 42 to 19, a more than a 50 percent reduction. And the advocates said that if this law remained on the books, the total in the state would go to ten. Now, it’s a big deal for Texas, but there are a dozen states, a dozen other states that had laws similar to this. So they are now in big legal jeopardy, too. Some were on hold waiting for the Supreme Court's decision.
Here's why it was a very big deal. After trying for years to figure out some way to roll back the abortion right in Roe vs. Wade, the opponents of abortion came up with the new method. Instead of restricting the options for the woman, for the patient on waiting periods or having to have counseling or limiting when it was available, they tried a new tack and directed their attention instead at the clinics themselves. The state passed the law known as HB2 with a very controversial vote and the state said it was necessary to protect women's health. But the opponents of the law said it was a pretext. It was nothing more than an attempt to make abortion more difficult to get. And a decisive win, a 5-3 vote, they struck the law down. Back to you.
LAUER: And Pete, in the past the Court said states can't put an undue burden on women seeking an abortion but had not defined what an undue burden was. And they have now done that more carefully.
WILLIAMS: The appeals court here set a low bar. You are right, the rule here for well over a quarter of a century have been the states can restrict abortion as long as it's not an undo burden on the woman's right to choose. What the appeals court said here is, “Don’t— Courts don’t look very closely at that. If the legislature comes up with a rational basis. That is good enough. Close your eyes and accept it.” And the Supreme Court said that's not the analysis.
LAUER: As we’ve said, it’s a major ruling on abortion. Pete Williams at the Supreme Court, as always, thank you very much.
