Â鶹ŮÓÅ

Abortion providers in Texas reacted with surprise and elation on Monday to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to throw out the state's restrictive abortion law and said they aimed to reopen some clinics shut down since the measure was passed in 2013. Since the law was passed by a Republican-led legislature and signed by a Republican governor, the number of abortion clinics in Texas, the second-most-populous U.S. state with about 27 million people, has fallen from 41 to 19. (Herskovitz, 6/28)

Even with those mandates now gone, Planned Parenthood and others providers are not yet making promises about breaking ground on new facilities in Texas. And any openings, they cautioned, could take years, meaning that women in rural Texas counties are still likely to face hours-long drives to abortion clinics for the foreseeable future. Buildings need to be leased. Staffs need to be hired. Clinics must still obtain state licenses and funds for medical equipment must be raised. Meanwhile, the Republican-controlled Legislature is all but certain to remain hostile to abortion providers that try to expand. (Weber, 6/28)

While the Supreme Court handed Texas abortion providers a major victory Monday by overturning two key restrictions from the state’s 2013 abortion law, providers say they don't expect abortion clinics that shuttered in wake of the law to reopen soon. Along with financial and logistical constraints, some closed clinics will need to be relicensed by the state. (Pattani, 6/27)

Daniel Grossman understands all too well the impact of the Supreme Court striking down Texas' tough restrictions on abortions. He has watched in dismay as the number of doctors licensed to provide abortions in Texas dropped by 42 percent since the law went into effect in 2013. In a state with over 12 million women, only 28 doctors with hospital admitting privileges are providing abortions. (Samee Ali, 6/27)

The legacy of the 2013 Texas abortion law is likely to be a long-standing reduction in the number of abortion clinics in the state, long after Monday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down the law’s key provisions. Abortion providers cautioned Monday that it would take years to reopen any of the 23 facilities that have shuttered since the law took effect. Rebecca Robertson, legal and policy director at the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, said she doubted whether many of the clinics that have closed since 2013 would reopen at all. (Chang and Lindell, 6/27)

Abortion facilities have closed and reopened several times over the course of the three-year legal battle. Extreme rhetoric on both sides left Texas women in limbo, guessing at which clinics were open, how many appointments they would have to book and whether the procedure was legal at all. This is where Texas stands today. (Martin, 6/27)

When the U.S. Supreme Court struck down harsh Texas abortion regulations Monday, Kristeena Banda, the manager of the only abortion clinic in the Rio Grande Valley, was overcome with emotion. Twice the Whole Woman's Health clinic she manages in McAllen had been forced to close because of the strict regulations, only to reopen amid an uncertain future. (Nelsen, 6/27)