Wisconsin Federal Judge Finds State Abortion Law Unconstitutional
Overwhelming victory for women’s rights & Planned Parenthood.
A federal judge in Wisconsin ruled as unconstitutional on Friday a state law requiring any doctor performing an abortion to have privileges to admit patients to a nearby hospital.
U.S. District Judge William Conley temporarily blocked the law in August 2013, which requires doctors to have admitting privileges at a hospital located within 30 miles (50 km) of his or her practice, shortly after Republican Governor Scott Walker signed it into law.
Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin and Affiliated Medical Services, the state’s two abortion providers, challenged the measure in court, saying it could force abortion clinics in Appleton and Milwaukee to close.
On Friday, Conley ordered a permanent injunction against the law, saying in his 91-page order and opinion that the law violated women’s 14th amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution.
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