Before the law—House Bill 2—was passed in 2013, Texas had roughly 41 clinics that provided abortions. Today it has less than 20, and if Tuesday’s ruling goes into effect, the number could dwindle to just seven.

This is in a state where abortion was already difficult to access, especially for low-income people, disproportionately impacting people of color and immigrant communities.

“Not since before Roe v. Wade has a law or court decision had the potential to devastate access to reproductive health care on such a sweeping scale,” declared Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights. “Once again, women across the state of Texas face elimination of safe and legal options for ending a pregnancy, and the denial of their constitutional rights.”

“My heart breaks for the women and families of Texas,” said Jennifer Dalven, director of the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project. “This law was designed for one purpose: to keep a woman who has decided to get an abortion from getting one. It’s bad medicine, created by politicians and not doctors, and it’s deeply disappointing that the court has chosen to ignore women in favor of political maneuvering.”

HB2 is considered one of the most severe anti-choice laws in the United States and has been fastidiously fought by reproductive justice advocates, from the courts to the streets.

The Texas Medical Association, the Texas Hospital Associations, and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have all come out against the legislation.

Reproductive justice advocates vowed to appeal Tuesday’s ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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