By Miriam Raftery

June 27,2016 (Washington D.C.) – A Texas law that sought to shut down most of the state’s abortion clinics, forcing some women seeking the procedure to drive hundreds of miles, has been overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court as unconstitutional in a 5-3 ruling.  The decision is expected to impact at least 25 other states that have enacted similar restrictions.

The law required abortion clinics to meet surgical-center operating standards and for doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals.  Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, has said that the state’s goal was to “protect innocent life, while ensuring the highest health and safety standards for women.” But the court’s majority found just the opposite—that medical risks for women would rise as a result of the law.