Abortion debate returns to depleted Supreme Court
The clinics want the court to roll back regulations requiring doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and forcing clinics to meet standards for outpatient or ambulatory surgical centers.
A 4-4 tie in this case would leave Texas' law standing, because the federal appeals court in New Orleans ruled for the state.
The same federal appeals court has allowed that state's admitting privileges law to take effect while a legal challenge winds its way through the courts, even after a trial judge struck it down as unconstitutional.