Reinstatement of Texas Abortion Law Shuts Down Clinics

Barred from performing procedure

In a Texas abortion clinic, about a dozen women waited Friday to see the doctor, already aware that they would not be able to end their pregnancies there.

A day after a federal appeals court allowed most of the state's new abortion restrictions to take effect during a legal challenge, about a third of Texas' clinics were barred from performing the procedure.

Thursday's ruling made Texas the fourth and largest state to enforce a provision requiring doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges in a nearby hospital. In places such as the Rio Grande Valley and rural West Texas, the mandate put hundreds of miles between many women and abortion providers.