Stuart M. Gerson, Member of the Firm in the Litigation and Health Care & Life Sciences practices, in the firm’s Washington, DC, and New York offices, was quoted in Law360, in “5 Health Care Battles to Watch in Supreme Court’s New Term,” by Jeff Overley. (Read the full version – subscription required.)
Following is an excerpt:
As the U.S. Supreme Court kicks off its new term Monday, the justices are poised to take on health care cases involving some of the most controversial policy issues in the country, including abortion rights and the Affordable Care Act. Here, Law360 takes a look at a quintet of major battles to watch. …
Abortion Precedent Faces Tests
The justices on Friday agreed to examine a Louisiana law that would require abortion doctors to hold admitting privileges at nearby hospitals, setting up a major test of how the new conservative majority will approach abortion rights.
The high court struck down a virtually identical Texas law in 2016, but the Fifth Circuit last year upheld Louisiana’s law, saying its impact would be minor compared to the Lone Star State’s statute. The high court has blocked Louisiana’s law pending a final decision.
On Friday, the justices also granted Louisiana’s request to examine the legal standing of abortion providers to challenge abortion laws on behalf of their patients. Many of the country’s landmark abortion decisions, including the Supreme Court’s 1992 ruling in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, have featured abortion providers as plaintiffs.
How the justices handle the two issues will likely signal whether the high court overturns some of its precedent on access to abortion. There is “a substantial probability that a conservative majority will uphold the Louisiana restrictive law this time around,” Epstein Becker Green member Stuart Gerson told Law360 on Friday.
Arguments are expected in early 2020, and a decision is likely in June. The timing may well generate “repercussions as the presidential campaign unfolds,” Gerson said.
The cases are June Medical Services LLC et al. v. Gee, case number 18-1323, and Gee v. June Medical Services LLC, case number 18-1460, in the Supreme Court of the United States.
