Abortions not essential to mother’s health must be halted under order, Texas AG says
Attorney General Ken Paxton clarified the scope of Gov. Greg Abbott’s new executive order postponing surgeries that aren’t medically necessary, saying Monday that it applies to abortion procedures that aren’t essential for the mother’s health.
In addition to applying to routine medical procedures, like dental exams or orthopedic surgeries, “any type of abortion that is not medically necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother” must also be postponed under the executive order, according to a news release Monday from Paxton’s office.
“We must work together as Texans to stop the spread of COVID-19 and ensure that our health care professionals and facilities have all the resources they need to fight the virus at this time,” Paxton said in a statement. “No one is exempt from the governor’s executive order on medically unnecessary surgeries and procedures, including abortion providers. Those who violate the governor’s order will be met with the full force of the law.”
The news release reiterated Abbott’s warning that failure to comply with the governor’s executive orders could result in fines up to $1,000 or jail time up to 180 days.
Anti-abortion groups in Texas had celebrated Abbott’s executive order, while abortion providers warned postponing abortions could jeopardize patients’ health.
Under the executive order meant to increase hospital capacity to combat the novel coronavirus’ spread, physicians will have the discretion to suspend procedures that aren’t immediately medically necessary to correct a serious medical condition or to preserve the life of a patient, Abbott said Sunday.
“The vast majority of elective abortions do not fit under that category,” John Seago, the legislative director for the anti-abortion group Texas Right to Life, said. “And so we do believe the order should be applied to elective abortions if you’re just taking the plain meaning of the text.”
Amy Hagstrom Miller, the president and CEO of Whole Woman’s Health and Whole Woman’s Health Alliance, which has a clinic in Fort Worth, said in a statement Monday that abortion is essential healthcare that patients already face barriers to access.
“Many of our patients travel hundreds of miles across the state for care, and some even travel across state lines to access abortion. Additionally, our patients are subjected to mandatory delays and multiple medically-unnecessary visits — all of which already delay timely care,” Miller said in a statement. “Patients cannot wait until this pandemic is over to receive safe abortion care.”
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.”
The executive order notes that the restrictions will not apply to procedures “that would not deplete the hospital capacity or the personal protective equipment needed to cope with the COVID-19 disaster.” It takes effect immediately and will be in place through midnight April 21.
Ken Lambrecht, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, Melaney A. Linton, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, and Jeffrey Hons, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood South Texas, said in a joint statement Monday night that they are carefully reviewing Abbott’s executive order to ensure compliance.
Kamyon Conner, the executive director of the Texas Equal Access Fund, which provides financial assistance and emotional support to people who need abortions in 110 counties in North, East, and West Texas, said in a statement Monday that abortion care must be provided without delay.
“The longer a person waits to get an abortion, the more expensive it becomes and may require people to travel longer distances which could lead to people not being able to get the procedures they need,” Conner said in a statement. “As we all navigate COVID-19, we call on policy makers to focus on ensuring people are able to get the care they need instead of propping up the agendas of anti-abortion extremists.”
Other states that have passed similar restrictions on elective medical procedures have run into the same question. Officials in Washington and Massachusetts clarified that under their orders abortions can continue as planned. Meanwhile, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost sent a letter ordering abortion providers to halt non-essential surgical abortions, however some providers said their doors would remain open for essential procedures, according to The Columbus Dispatch.
Lauren Thaxton, a co-investigator at the Texas Policy Evaluation Project — a group of university-based investigators that study the impact of legislation on women’s reproductive health — said that while healthcare providers are constantly evaluating new evidence, there’s still much to learn about the novel coronavirus’ effect on pregnancies.
“At this moment we don’t know very much about COVID-19’s impact on pregnant women, as well as their fetuses, childbirth and neonatal outcomes after birth,” Thaxton said. “So there’s a lot that’s unknown.”
This story was originally published March 23, 2020 at 12:18 PM.
