10 things you need to know today: June 30, 2020

The Supreme Court strikes down Louisiana's restrictive abortion law, coronavirus hot-spot states roll back reopenings, and more

Activists in front of the Supreme Court building
(Image credit: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)

1. Supreme Court strikes down Louisiana abortion restrictions

The Supreme Court on Monday struck down Louisiana's restrictive abortion law, which required doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. The law would have left the state with one abortion clinic. Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court's four-member liberal minority in the 5-to-4 decision. The ruling was a victory for abortion rights advocates and a defeat for conservatives expecting anti-abortion decisions by the court's newly strengthened conservative majority. Roberts said the Louisiana law couldn't be allowed to stand because of a precedent set in 2016, when the court overturned a similar Texas law. "The Louisiana law imposes a burden on access to abortion just as severe as that imposed by the Texas law, for the same reasons," Roberts wrote, concurring with the decision.

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.