Howe on the Court 4/11/2020
Telling the justices that “Texas has exploited the COVID-19 crisis as a pretext to target abortion,†Planned Parenthood and abortion providers in Texas filed an emergency appeal with the Supreme Court today. Planned Parenthood asked the justices to vacate a ruling by a federal appeals court and to allow “medication abortions†– that is, abortions induced by taking two pills by mouth – to go forward while it challenges a near-total ban on abortions in Texas.
The dispute has its roots in a March 22 executive order by Texas Governor Greg Abbott that prohibits elective surgeries and medical procedures until April 21 in an effort to free up hospital space and conserve personal protective equipment (PPE) for the care of COVID-19 patients. After Ken Paxton, the state’s attorney general, announced that the emergency order applies to abortions, except when the woman’s health is at risk, Planned Parenthood went to court to challenge the order.
On Thursday, a federal district judge in Texas issued a temporary restraining order that would have allowed medication abortions, as well as abortions for women who will be too far along in their pregnancies to have an abortion when the order expires in late April. Yesterday the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit partially blocked that order: It put on hold the part of the order that would have allowed medication abortions to resume.
Today Planned Parenthood came to the Supreme Court, asking the justices to allow medication abortions to go forward. Noting that the 5th Circuit’s order “singles out medication abortion as the only oral medication that cannot be provided under†Governor Abbott’s order, Planned Parenthood emphasized that, unless the justices intervene, the 5th Circuit’s stay “makes Texas the only state in the country permitted to enforce an interpretation of a COVID-19 executive order that categorically bars medication abortion.â€
More:
http://amylhowe.com/2020/04/11/texas-abortion-dispute-reaches-supreme-court/
