January 8, 2020
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Family Research Council (FRC) has submitted an amicus brief in the case of June Medical Services v. Gee, which is currently before the U.S. Supreme Court. At issue is a Louisiana law (Act 620) that protects women's health by requiring persons who perform abortion procedures to also maintain admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. Abortion facilities in Louisiana sued to block the law from taking effect.
In our amicus brief, we argue:
"The admitting-privileges requirement of Act 620 is a legitimate and sensible health-and-safety regulation that falls squarely within the State's police powers. This Court has long recognized that the State has a significant role to play in regulating the medical profession, and that abortion providers do not have a constitutional exemption from health-and-safety regulations."
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins remarked:
"As someone who worked on the first version of this law decades ago, I'm glad to see the effort to protect women from often unsanitary and unsafe environments advance through subsequent generations. Protecting the lives of both unborn babies and their mothers requires sustained vigilance. By doing the hard work of passing this law and defending it all the way to the Supreme Court, the state of Louisiana is proving that the pro-life movement is pro-woman."
Travis Weber, FRC's Vice President for Policy and Government Affairs, who assisted in filing our brief, commented:
"It is time that abortion providers are no longer given a pass on ignoring women's safety. Abortion providers should be subject to the same neutral regulations as everyone else."
Katherine Beck Johnson, FRC's Research Fellow for Legal and Policy Studies, who also helped develop our brief, added:
"This legislation that works to provide protections for women is within Louisiana's legitimate jurisdiction. Women's health and safety should be prioritized over the politics of abortion, and that is just what Louisiana has done."
To review the full amicus brief, please see: https://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=
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