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AFP
WASHINGTON
THE US SUPREME COURT on Monday struck down a Texas law placing a raft of restrictions on abortion clinics, handing a major victory to the"pro-choice" camp in the country's most important ruling on the divisive issue in a generation.
Crowds of passionate activists from both sides of the debate shed tears of joy and dismay outside the court over the closely-watched decision, which has far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States.
The black-robed justices ruled by 5-3 to strike down Texas measures which activists say have forced more than half of abortion clinics to close in the second most-populous US state, with the conservative Anthony Kennedy siding with his four liberal colleagues on the bench.
President Barack Obama joined civil rights activists and women's health providers in hailing a milestone for abortion rights, with the issue now set to be thrust center stage in the White House race.
Outside the court, pro-choice activists rallied under placards reading"The burden is undue," while opponents of abortion massed under the slogan:"I am the pro-life generation."
"I'm all about life and love and babies," said Nita Amar, a 63-year-old labor and delivery nurse who breathed a sigh of relief at the ruling.
"But if women lose access to abortion rights, they're going to go back to the alleys and use coat hangers again."
But others were distraught.
"I'm devastated. I just cried," said 25-year-old"pro-life" activist Sarah Manning, who came with husband Jonathan and their seven-month-old baby Joshua."How many more people will die because of this ruling?"
Under the Texas legislation, doctors who perform abortions were required to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and their clinics needed to meet the standards of an ambulatory surgical center.
Justice Stephen Breyer, writing for the majority, said"we conclude that neither of these provisions offers medical benefits sufficient to justify the burdens upon access that each imposes."
The court ruled that both provisions placed"a substantial obstacle in the path of women seeking a previability abortion" that"each constitutes an undue burden on abortion access" and"each violates the Federal Constitution."
Defenders of the 2013 Texas law claimed that it aimed to protect women's health, but opponents saw it as part of a nationwide drive to restrict abortion access.
The rules meant that hundreds of thousands of women were or would be forced to seek abortion services far from their homes and faced a weeks-long wait while clinics struggle with strict requirements and costly upgrades.
Activists had sounded the alarm over moves to enact similar laws in other states, that would have received a major boost from a ruling in Texas's favor.
