A US court of appeals has upheld several parts of the Texas abortion law passed last summer, including the requirement that doctors at abortion clinics must have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. Houston Chronicle: A panel of judges at the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court judge who said the rules violate the U.S. Constitution and serve no medical purpose. After the lower court's ruling, the appeals court had allowed the restrictions to go into effect while it considered the case, which could ultimately end up before the U.S. Supreme Court. The new law requires abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital and places strict limits on doctors prescribing abortion-inducing pills. More regulations that are scheduled to begin later this year weren't part of the case. In its opinion, the appeals court said the law "on its face does not impose an undue burden on the life and health of a...(Read Full Post)