Texas clinics ask U.S. Supreme Court to block Gov. Abbott’s coronavirus abortion ban
Several Texas abortion providers asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take emergency action against Gov. Greg Abbott’s order that blocks most abortion services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Providers represented by the Center for Reproductive Rights, the Lawyering Project and Planned Parenthood Federation of America requested SCOTUS take emergency action to restore medication abortion services in Texas on Saturday.
Medication abortions are allowed during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. A woman takes one pill at a clinic and a second pill 24 to 48 hours later, usually at home. The clinics argue these type of abortions do not require personal protective equipment like masks, gloves and gowns that might be needed for coronavirus patients.
The request is the latest move in a legal battle that erupted after Abbott signed an executive order that banned abortions that were not considered medically necessary. The executive order prohibited other unnecessary medical procedures as a method to increase hospital capacity to combat the spread of coronavirus.
After Abbott announced the executive order, Texas abortion clinics sued the governor, claiming Abbott was using the coronavirus to fulfill a political agenda. On March 30, a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order that blocked Abbott’s order. That was overturned by a 5th Circuit Appeals Court on April 7.
On Thursday, a federal district court granted a second temporary restraining order against Abbott’s order. On Friday, the appeals court again overturned that restraining order.
“The past few weeks have been untenable for Texans in need of time-sensitive abortion procedures. We’ve heard patients grow increasingly more desperate for care,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, acting president and CEO, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, in a press release.
“Gov. Abbott has blocked abortion access for mothers who have lost their jobs because of COVID-19, people quarantined with abusive partners, and patients with fatal fetal diagnoses. Now is the time to be making abortion more accessible, not less.”
Those that do not comply with the governor’s executive orders could be fined up to $1,000 or face jail time up to 180 days.
Joe Pojman, the executive director of the anti-abortion group Texas Alliance for Life, said that with the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases projected to rise, healthcare providers’ highest priority must be treating patients who test positive and whose lives are at risk.
“That is a reality and these abortion providers need to get in tune with the reality of this crisis,” Pojman said. “Doing otherwise puts them totally out of the mainstream with what’s happening and puts patients at risk — patients who need life-saving procedures and need treatment for this virus.”
