Today a major vote was made in favor of women's reproductive rights. In a 5-3 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Whole Women's Health vs. Hellerstedt, striking down HB2 that would have placed even further restrictions on abortions in Texas. When HB2 was passed in 2013, it had a huge effect on women's access to safe and legal abortions in Texas, by resulting in more than half of the 40 clinics closing because of the restrictions. But today, with SCOTUS' decision, is a good day for women in Texas — and women everywhere.
While presidential nominee Donald Trump has remained mum (so far) about the decision, Hillary Clinton took to Twitter and Facebook to praise the decision and thank the "brave women and men across the country who shared their stories," as well as healthcare providers who worked tirelessly for this victory. She also reiterated just how much is at stake during this upcoming election in regards to women's reproductive rights, especially since Trump has vowed to "punish" women who get abortions.
What makes the Whole Women's Health v. Hellerstedt ruling so significant is that this is the first abortion case in 20 years that will end up having such a profound and positive effect on women's health. In 1992, SCOTUS heard Planned Parenthood v. Casey, in which they ruled that states could not place "undue burden" on abortion access as a means to prevent women from getting abortions. Although that was a big step in the fight for women's reproductive rights, it did allow states to impose some limits, limits that Texas politicians had freely taken advantage of, in the hopes of putting an end to abortions all together. But today Wendy Davis' filibuster from 2013, the one in which she tried to block this bill from becoming a law, is no longer in vain. Today, women win.
As Dr. Willie Parker, board chair of Physicians for Reproductive Health, said in a statement shared with Bustle:
The battle to protect abortion access is not over. We will continue to fight to ensure that our physicians can fulfill their deep, conscientious commitment to providing all women who need it — in Texas and across the country — with dignified, compassionate, and appropriate reproductive health care.
But while our work is far from over, today we get to celebrate this decision and what it means for women everywhere. And because Twitter seems to have the first and last word on everything, here's what's being tweeted about the decision.
Images: Twitter
