Federal judge rules Wisconsin abortion restrictions unconstitutional.

Courtesy of the AP:  

A federal judge on Friday struck down a Wisconsin law requiring doctors performing abortions to get hospital admitting privileges, ruling that any benefits to women's health from the requirement are "substantially outweighed" by restricting women's access to abortion. 

U.S. District Judge William Conley, who earlier had put the law on hold, ruled that the 2013 law is unconstitutional. He issued a permanent injunction blocking its enforcement. 

Planned Parenthood and Affiliated Medical Services had sued the state, arguing the requirement will force AMS's Milwaukee clinic to close because its doctors can't get admitting privileges. 

The groups argued that would amount to restricting access to abortions in Wisconsin. State attorneys contended the mandate would ensure continuity of care for women hospitalized with abortion complications. 

In his ruling, Conley wrote that the "marginal benefit to women's health" by requiring hospital admitting privileges "is substantially outweighed by the burden this requirement will have on women's health outcomes due to restricted access to abortions in Wisconsin." 

"While the court agrees with the State that sometimes it is necessary to reduce access to insure safety, this is decidedly not one of those instances," Conley wrote. "In particular, the State has failed to meet its burden of demonstrating through credible evidence a link between the admitting privileges requirement and a legitimate health interest."

Well this is great news, though it is only one victory against an unprecedented number of attacks on abortion rights by conservatives since  2010.

The fact that today we have to continue to defend the right of women to have control over their own reproductive systems forty years after Roe vs Wade is unconscionable.

And yet the Republicans continue to deny that there is a war against women.