Posted: 11/20/2013 at 5:00pm | IP Logged

Texas Abortion Restrictions Stay; NM Ban Rejected

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CBN News

The states of Texas and New Mexico emerged from major abortion fights Wednesday with two different outcomes.

In what Texas pro-lifers are hailing as a victory, a third of the Lone Star State's abortion clinics will remain closed after the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to intervene.

In July, the state legislature passed a law requiring doctors who perform abortions in clinics to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital.

"One out of three women will not be able to access safe abortion services," Danielle Wells, spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, said.

But supporters of the law say making clinics meet higher regulatory standards protects patients.

"At the end of the day, House Bill 2 makes sure that anyone performing abortions in the state of Texas is doing so in a facility that meets appropriate safety guidelines. That is reasonable. That is common sense," Gov. Rick Perry said.

Meanwhile, in Albuquerque, N.M., voters rejected a ballot measure that would have banned abortions after 20 weeks.

"It's really important for women to have control over their own bodies," said resident Julie Wilt, who voted against the ban.

But supporters of banning late-term abortions say the fight is far from over.

"While we are disappointed, we will come back stronger. We will keep moving forward. We will never back down. We will never give up," Tara Shaver, co-founder of Project Defending Life, vowed.

Across the country pro-lifers are targeting late-term abortions and citing the horrific practices that go along with them.

Former workers at one Houston abortion clinic described babies being born alive daily and killed at the hand of an abortionist.

"When he [the abortion doctor] did an abortion, especially an over 20-week abortion, most of the time the fetus would come completely out before he either cut the spinal cord or he introduced one of the instruments into the soft spot of the fetus in order to kill the fetus," former abortion clinic employee Deborah Edge recalled.

"But I wasn't aware -- I thought well, it's an abortion; that's what he does," she continued. "But I wasn't aware that it was illegal."

"Of course the fetus would still be alive because it was still moving," Edge said. "You could see, of course you could see the stomach breathing."

The issue will likely resurface in the 2016 presidential elections. Potential GOP candidates Sen. Ted Cruz of Florida and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky have both spoken out against late-term abortions.