Federal judge temporarily blocks Texas' ban on abortions during coronavirus pandemic

[TexasTowelie]

Source: Texas Tribune

A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked Texas' ban on abortions, a prohibition state officials said was necessary to preserve medical resources during the coronavirus pandemic.

The ruling came less than a week after Texas abortion providers announced a lawsuit against top state officials, challenging Attorney General Ken Paxton's assertion that Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order banning all procedures deemed to be not medically necessary should be interpreted to include abortions.

The court granted the abortion providers’ motion to temporarily block the state from enforcing the order, which was set to expire April 21, as it relates to abortions. The temporary restraining order will expire April 13.

“Regarding a woman's right to a pre-fetal-viability abortion, the Supreme Court has spoken clearly,” wrote U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel. “There can be no outright ban on such a procedure.”

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2020/03/30/texas-attempt-ban-abortions-during-coronavirus-blocked-judge/

[OAITW r.2.0]

1. Keep flogging that dead mare, GOP.

You are becoming a caricature of an American political Party. Onward to irrelevance?

[Polybius]

2. Wow, a George W. Bush judge too

Very surprising.

[Judi Lynn]

3. Federal Judges Block Texas and Ohio Coronavirus Abortion Bans

Federal Judges Block Texas and Ohio Coronavirus Abortion Bans
By DAHLIA LITHWICK

MARCH 30, 20208:22 PM

There was bad news on Monday for states trying to use the coronavirus pandemic to halt abortions: Two federal judges ruled that pretextual pretexts are just pretexts. Clinics in Ohio and Texas will remain open, at least for the time being. As my colleague Christina Cauterucci reported last week, Republican governors in both Ohio and Texas tried opportunistically to halt abortions in their states by claiming that the procedures are not-essential and that states should redirect personal protective equipment, including masks and gloves, away from clinics so they can better serve coronavirus patients. Of course, women actually need abortion services even more during such crises, clinics don’t use most of the essential medical equipment necessary to fight the virus, and most abortions are time-sensitive procedures that can’t be delayed indefinitely.

Texas and Ohio weren’t alone, though. Iowa, Mississippi, Alabama, and Oklahoma had all recently moved to suspend abortion access using the same excuses. The Texas guidance, which was particularly draconian, would have applied to “any type of abortion that is not medically necessary to preserve the life of the mother,” and violations would include a $1,000 fine or up to 180 days in jail. Meanwhile, Ohio’s deputy attorney general, Jonathan Fulkerson, had sent letters to a handful of abortion clinics accusing them of violating the Ohio order, but the clinics had replied that they were in compliance and continued to perform procedures.

On Monday, a coalition that included Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, and the Center for Reproductive Rights brought challenges in Alabama, Iowa, Ohio ,and Oklahoma, seeking to halt the coronavirus abortion bans. Last week, Planned Parenthood and the Center for Reproductive Rights sued Texas.

. . .

Judges overseeing the remaining state challenges will rule soon enough, but for the moment it’s heartening to learn that the federal judiciary, including judges appointed by Republicans, do not appear willing to fall prey to the dangerous myth that holds that national emergencies are by definition an excuse for opportunists to curb random fundamental freedoms simply because the word “emergency” is deployed.

More:
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/03/federal-judges-block-coronavirus-abortion-bans.html

[Progressive Jones]

4. Every pregnant woman in the US should demand

one of those $500.00 per child checks for her fetus.
Then we'll get to hear the GOP claim that the fetus isn't a person.