AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Planned Parenthood on Tuesday announced the reopening of its first abortion clinic in Texas since the U.S. Supreme Court last year struck down strict regulations that prompted more than half of the state’s abortion facilities to close.
The location was notable: Waco, which like many rural and midsized cities in Texas lost its only abortion clinic after then-Gov. Rick Perry signed the regulations in 2013. The sweeping anti-abortion bill imposed costly operating standards on clinics and required doctors who perform abortions to obtain hospital admitting privileges.
The law virtually wiped out all Texas abortion clinics outside big metropolitan areas, such as Dallas and Houston, and a few cities on the border with Mexico. It was struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional nearly a year ago in a 5-3 ruling. But since then, only three of the more than 20 clinics that originally closed have reopened.
Kelly Hart, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, said the organization’s data indicate women have been traveling 50 to 99 miles or more to the nearest abortion provider.
“For so many women, the barriers of distance are real, and they kept them from making the decisions they might have preferred to make,” Hart said.
She said she was not aware of other Planned Parenthood facilities elsewhere in Texas that may be reopening. Cities such as Lubbock, Midland and College Station have also lost abortion clinics in recent years that have not been restored.
Undeterred by the Supreme Court decision, Republican lawmakers in Texas are now pushing new anti-abortion measures toward Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk. But time is running out before the Texas Legislature adjourns later this month, and some conservatives are growing restless.
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GUN BILLS ADVANCE
Texas lawmakers moved Tuesday to make it even easier to carry firearms with a trio of bills approved by the state House - including one that could cost the state millions amid a sizeable budget crunch.
The chamber voted 111-30 to decrease gun licenses to $40, down from $140 for first-time permits and $70 for 5-year renewals. The move has already cleared the Texas Senate and now needs only a final House vote - which should come Wednesday - before Gov. Greg Abbott can sign it into law.
The decrease is expected to cost Texas nearly $22 million over the life of the 2018-2019 state budget that the Legislature is still devising. That’s a significant number given that the prolonged oil price slump has left the state up to $6 billion short of being able to maintain current spending levels over the two-year life of the next budget.
Opponents warned the move could deplete funding for other priorities like public education, though those objections didn’t stop the proposal from passing.
Supporters said Texas currently has some of the nation’s highest fees for gun licenses, and that they are so costly that residents sometimes travel to neighboring states to get cheaper licenses that are still applicable back home because of reciprocity agreements.
Abbott, meanwhile, has said he would go as far as eliminating all fees associated with obtaining a gun license.
Also passed Tuesday using a simple voice vote was a proposal allowing volunteer firefighters and medical services volunteers to bring guns into restricted areas. That bill is designed to allow first responders who carry concealed handguns to handle emergencies without the delay of storing their guns. There was no debate but opponents have previously noted that the volunteers are not trained to handle firearms in such high-stress environments.
A third proposal approved would allow license applicants take handgun proficiency courses online, rather than in the classroom.
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ON DECK
The House heads back into session at 10 a.m. on Wednesday and has a crowded agenda that includes a Gov. Greg Abbott-backed bill under which Texas is endorsing a “convention of states” to amend the U.S. Constitution. A similar measure already passed the Senate, which reconvenes at 11 a.m. Wednesday.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Any time you felt like he was getting in the ditch, you didn’t have to worry because of how he was raised,” Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, speaking about former Gov. Rick Perry on Tuesday during a floor memorial to Perry’s father, Joseph “Ray” Perry, who died last week at age 92.
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