John Oliver has skewered states that enact absurdly restrictive laws on abortion facilities just in time for the Supreme Court to hear its most significant abortion access case in about 25 years.
Using his typically biting sense of irony, Oliver explains that so-called TRAP (Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers) laws impose significant restrictions on providers that are not medically necessary. Proponents, meanwhile, argue the regulations are meant to protect women's health.
The Supreme Court case stems from a lawsuit filed by Whole Woman's Health, an abortion provider in Texas. The suit claims that TRAP laws shut down providers by imposing expensive and unnecessary building regulations. It also requires that physicians who perform abortions retain hospital admitting privileges. Major medical organizations, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Medical Association, say these restrictions have no valid medical justifications.