BREAKING: A Texas judge appointed by George W. Bush just sided with abortion clinics who were challenging the state's order to halt abortions during the #covid19 pandemic. The state is banned from enforcing the order for the next couple week while the lawsuit continues in court.
The ruling comes at four other lawsuits are pending against other states that have moved to ban abortions as a "non-essential" surgery -- in Ohio, Iowa, Oklahoma and Alabama. More to come...
For more on how coronavirus has opened up a new front in the country's abortion wars, read our deep dive from last week: politico.com/news/2020/03/2…
In his ruling, the judge says even though he understands the public health fears, Texas' abortion ban clearly violates Roe vs. Wade. He then quips:
"This court will not speculate on whether the Supreme Court included a silent 'except-in-a-national-emergency clause.'"
"This court will not speculate on whether the Supreme Court included a silent 'except-in-a-national-emergency clause.'"
The judge also argued that:
-delaying abortions during the pandemic puts patients at risk of running into the Texas' 20-week ban & not being able to get one at all
-forcing people to travel out of state to obtain an abortion in the middle of pandemic does more harm than good
-delaying abortions during the pandemic puts patients at risk of running into the Texas' 20-week ban & not being able to get one at all
-forcing people to travel out of state to obtain an abortion in the middle of pandemic does more harm than good
Nancy Northup w @ReproRights, who helped bring this lawsuit & others that remain pending, says she expects the judges considering those cases have their eyes on Texas: “This ruling sends a message to other states: Using this pandemic to ban abortion access is unconstitutional."
