Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel filed an amicus brief last week in support of a 2013 Texas law regarding abortion.
The law requires doctors hold admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of where they operate in order to remain in business, and has forced the closure of multiple abortion clinics because some hospitals refuse admitting privileges to doctors who perform abortions.
Schimel filed the brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Whole Woman’s Health v. Cole, which will determine the Texas law’s constitutionality.
Wisconsin passed a law similar to the one in question, but it was struck down by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in November. If the Supreme Court upholds the Texas law, Wisconsin is expected to ask for review of the 7th Circuit’s previous decision.
In a 2015 ruling, the federal appeals court concluded Wisconsin’s legislation could “not be taken seriously as a measure to improve women’s health.”
Schimel’s brief cites the case of Kermit Gosnell, an abortion doctor who violated numerous regulations, to support the necessity of laws like the ones passed in Texas and Wisconsin.
“Underlying these new mandates, was, among other things, legislative recognition that a doctor of Gosnell’s character could never retain admitting privileges at any reputable hospital,” Schimel said in the brief.
The anti-abortion organization Wisconsin Right to Life voiced its support for Schimel’s brief, praising Texas’ law for “ensur[ing] the health and safety of women when abortion complications happen.”
Opponents, however, claim the law was designed to limit a woman’s right to end her pregnancy.