U.S. Appeals Court Upholds Restrictive Texas Abortion Law

 

A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday upheld the main provisions of a restrictive Texas abortion law including one requiring clinics to have certain hospital-grade facilities, a regulatory hurdle critics said was designed to shut down abortion providers.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in New Orleans, permitted the 2013 law to be applied across the state, although it exempted the application of some provisions to a clinic in the southern city of McAllen. The exemptions had been granted by a lower court on the grounds that its distance from other clinics could cause an undue burden on women in that area.
In its decision, the court said the state's measures were intended to protect women's health.

Under the "ambulatory surgical center" requirement, clinics must meet a set of building standards ranging from widening halls to having facilities for certain surgeries.

Texas, the largest Republican-controlled U.S. state, has been at the forefront of advancing regulations restricting access to abortion.

Abortion opponents welcomed the ruling. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, said the decision would protect women from substandard abortion facilities.

"I am proud to have both supported this law in the legislature and defended it in the courts," Paxton said.

Abortion rights advocates have said such requirements are unnecessary, especially when an abortion is medically induced rather than performed through surgery.

"Once again, women across the state of Texas face the near total elimination of safe and legal options for ending a pregnancy, and the denial of their constitutional rights," said Nancy Northup, president and chief executive of the Center for Reproductive Rights.

The court overturned large parts of an August decision by U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel, who said the ambulatory center requirement was unjust and had no compelling public health interest.

Before the law went into effect, there were about 40 licensed abortion facilities in Texas, a state of about 27 million people. That clinic number is expected to drop to about eight with the ambulatory surgical center requirement in effect, Yeakel cited evidence as saying.

The law also requires doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles (50 kms) of their clinics.
The Texas Hospital Association, representing more than 400 hospitals, called the requirement unnecessary because women experiencing abortion complications can go to an emergency room to be treated, and did not need their abortion doctor hospital staff for this to happen.

How To Win Your Private Law Family Court Case

The key thing to think about when you are going to court in relation to your child is to focus your thoughts and attention on what is in your child's best interests.

So many parents take their eye off the ball and allow themselves to be wound up and irritated by their ex partner, to the point that stop thinking consistently about their child.

We are all human and easily distracted when our love life and our children's lives are placed in a state of turmoil.

When your emotions are still raw it takes very little to hijack our focus and disturb our equilibrium.

Sometimes just seeing your ex partner can trigger off a whole load of toxic feelings imbued with such intense emotions that you remain in battle mode for weeks or months.

Very frequently what recently separated couples demonstrate is a marked proclivity to blame the other parent for all the things that have and are going wrong currently.

Blaming your ex for your current position however is an unhelpful exercise that rarely if ever brings about useful change.

What it is harder to do but absolutely vital to your court success and even more importantly your mental well being; is to begin to accept your responsibility in what lead to the relationship breakdown and what you can now do to make your child/ren's lives better.

You need to let go of blaming altogether and devote your attention to how you can help your child deal with the distress they are probably feeling.

If you show the court and the Cafcass Officer that you are totally focussed on what is in your child's best interests; irrespective of your views about your ex partner, you are far more likely to receive a positive assessment and consequently far more likely to win your case.

I would say that what's vital is that you show congruency throughout, such that you demonstrate a consistent picture via your behaviour at court, whilst writing your statement and during any interviews with the Cafcass Officer.

Your presentation both physically and personally is also essential here.

Do not for example make the Cafcass Officers life more difficult than it needs to be.

You may not realise it but it is a very difficult job; it will not harm your chances of success to smile and be personable.

In addition, it's a good idea when being interviewed by the Cafcass Officer to ask questions about anything you are unsure about that exemplify your capacity to keep your child's interests at the forefront of your mind.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6828819

Plan Your International Divorce

In cases of international divorce, which courts have international divorce jurisdiction and where should such a case be filed?

The most critical decision in strategic international divorce planning comes before a divorce case is first filed.

The decisive issue is often: Where to file?

The difference between filing for divorce in France instead of England or in Japan instead of the U.S. can be staggering.

Yes most litigants never do their homework and many family lawyers never advise them to do so and do not have the international know-how to guide them through the process.

A divorcing spouse who is in an international marriage with significant assets or earning potential should undertake strategic international strategic planning process with experienced international family law counsel.

Otherwise they may find themselves with a prenuptial agreement that could have been upheld --or set aside -- if only they had filed elsewhere, or with a multi-million dollar claim for the present value of a professional qualification earned during marriage that could have been defeated -- or successfully asserted -- if they had known that another jurisdiction was available.

On the other hand, many people mistakenly assume that they are free to search the world for the best divorce forum without understanding that they need to consider not only whether the courts in that country will accept the case but also whether the courts in the place where the other spouse lives or where the assets are located will recognize the divorce. Many non-resident Indians rush to India for a divorce without considering whether their decree will have any effect in the United States. Others fly for a weekend for a quickie Dominican divorce, often enticed by misleading information on internet web sites that "sell" fast divorces, without realizing that their divorce may be useless and often counter-productive.

Spouses in an international marriage who have children also need to understand that the rules about international child custody jurisdiction are often totally different than the rules about divorce jurisdiction. In fact, in the United States there are three entirely different kinds of jurisdiction in any case concerning international married couples with children. Each type of jurisdiction has entirely different rules.

First, there are the rules that govern whether a court has the right to grant a judgment of divorce.

Second, there are the different rules that govern whether a court has jurisdiction over the person of a defendant sufficient to enable it to handle the financial matters that result from a divorce.

Third, there are the rules that result from the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction & Enforcement Act (the "UCCJEA") as to whether a state's courts may determine child custody and child visitation.Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6720063