High Court Ruling on Texas Abortion Law Could Have National Implications

The Supreme Court is ruling this week on a case involving Texas abortion laws.

The Lone Star State passed a law requiring abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and for clinics to meet certain ambulatory regulations.

Supporters say the law improves safety for women. But critics say it's just an effort to limit access to abortions. If the law goes into effect, only a few abortion clinics in Texas would actually meet the standards.

According to Elizabeth Slattery of the Heritage Foundation, the case could have national implications.

"If the court upholds the Texas law in the abortion case I think it will empower other states to pass reforms to make sure that abortion clinics within their borders are operating in a safe and clean manner," remarked Slattery.  

"Whenever women have any sort of operation and it is a serious operation and I think that's not something that always gets through when we're talking about abortion, but women deserve safe and clean facilities for any sort of medical procedure," she continued.

Experts believe the decision could come down to yet another 4-4 split. Tie votes are becoming commonplace in the Supreme Court since the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.