(CNN)Â — A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld parts of a Texas abortion law pertaining to hospital privileges for physicians who perform abortions and protocols for abortion-inducing drugs, a decision that drew starkly contrasting reactions on both sides of the debate.
A U.S. district court previously struck down those provisions in the Texas law, which were challenged in court by lawyers for Planned Parenthood. But the 5th Circuit Appeals Court later issued a stay of that decision “pending appeal,” meaning it would not go into effect.
The U.S. Supreme Court also weighed in, with a majority refusing to stop the law’s implementation. In the ruling opinion, Justice Antonin Scalia wrote that an appeals court stay could not be vacated “unless that court clearly and ‘demonstrably’ erred in its application of ‘accepted standards.'”
