By Dave Andrusko

U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson
Well, there is one thing attorneys representing two abortion clinics and Alabama state officials can agree on. Both have asked U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson to issue a summary judgment, rather than go to trial, on the lawsuit challenging a law passed requiring abortionists to have admitting privileges at a local hospital.
The ACLU, representing the abortion clinics, maintain the law (which also requires that abortion clinics meet the standards of ambulatory clinics) is medically unnecessary and unconstitutional. In its filing, attorneys for the state countered that there were “documented problems with patient care” at existing abortion clinics.
“Over the last ten years, the Alabama Department of Public Health has cited abortion clinics for several serious violations. Some of these recent episodes raised the sorts of concerns about continuity of care that are relevant to the issues in this case,” state lawyers wrote.
The law– HB57–was originally scheduled to take effect July 1. Judge Thompson extended a temporary injunction against the law through March 24, 2014. Final legal arguments are due at the end of January.
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