U.S. top court rejects Wisconsin abortion case

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

BY LAWRENCE HURLEY
WASHINGTON Mon Jun 23, 2014 9:47am EDT

(Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to intervene in the legal fight over a new Wisconsin law that requires any doctor performing an abortion to have privileges to admit patients to a nearby hospital.

The justices turned away the state’s appeal of a December 2013 ruling by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld a federal judge’s decision to block the law temporarily.

Opponents of the state law say it could shut down half of Wisconsin's abortion clinics. It requires a doctor to have admitting privileges at a hospital located within 30 miles (48 km) of his or her practice.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/23/us-usa-court-abortion-idUSKBN0EY1IH20140623

[dragonlady]

1. Most or all of the hospitals in Milwaukee would refuse to grant privileges

The main reason I have read is that the doctors would be unable to meet the minimum of 20 patients admitted per year.

[Stonepounder]

2. The idea that a doctor needs admitting privileges is nuts!

For the first 50 years of my life I sailed along, rarely getting sick and never having any surgery (with the minor exception of getting my tonsils out when I was about 5 or 6). Then came my mid-50's into my mod-60's. I was 56 when, one evening, I passed out in the garage on a Saturday evening. I got a trip by ambulance to the hospital where the nice ER room doc admitted me. Sunday I had an angiogram where, even though I had no history of high blood pressure or high cholesterol, they discovered I had 3 blocked arteries in my heart and a 'hanging clot'. Monday morning a very nice and very skilled surgeon cracked my chest open, did a triple-bypass, removed the clot, and performed a 'maze' procedure to take care of the arrhythmia that caused the black out. The ER doc had admitting privileges, the surgeon didn't.

Fast forward a few years. I started having chest pains, but no one could figure out why. My heart was in great shape. Finally my wife did some research on the internet and suggested that I might be passing gall stones. I went to my PCP who referred me to a gastroenterologist, who confirmed my wife's diagnosis. He then called a surgical buddy who removed my gall bladder a few days later. Oh, his surgical buddy didn't have admitting privileges either. The doctor who actually 'admitted' me saw me twice for a total of about 10 minutes.

So, why in the world would doctors who perform abortions need admitting privileges when heart surgeons don't?

Well, you know the answer. Throw up every roadblock you can to prevent women from having a procedure that has been ruled legal and constitutional by SCOTUS.

[lark]

3. OMG, a spark of sanity was actually seen in the SCOTUS?

I'm shocked I tell you, totally shocked!

[TrogL]

4. This makes my head hurt

The...Court...turned away the state's appeal of a ... ruling that upheld a ... judge's decision to block the law...(backtracking)...that requires any doctor performing an abortion to have privileges to admit patients.

Therefore abortions can go ahead?

[roody]

5. Yes.