Abortion providers sue Texas officials over executive order that halts most abortions
Abortion providers are suing Gov. Greg Abbott, Attorney General Ken Paxton and a slew of other Texas officials in an effort to stop the state’s restriction of most abortion procedures during the coronavirus pandemic.
Abortion providers allege in a federal lawsuit filed in Austin that enforcement of a recent executive order violates Texans’ right to equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment.
Under the executive order issued Sunday, 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 had said the order was intended to increase hospital capacity and preserve personal protective equipment in an effort to combat spread of the novel coronavirus. The order took effect immediately and is in place through midnight April 21
By Monday, Paxton issued a news release clarifying that the governor’s order also applies to “any type of abortion that is not medically necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother.”
While anti-abortion advocates had celebrated Paxton’s ruling, abortion providers said the order has already resulted in canceled procedures and will jeopardize patients’ health.
“The Texas Attorney General’s enforcement threats are a blatant effort to exploit a public health crisis to advance an extreme, anti-abortion agenda, without any benefit to the state in terms of preventing or resolving shortages of (personal protective equipment) or hospital capacity,” the lawsuit reads. “As a result of these threats, this week Plaintiffs have already been forced to turn away patients in need of time-sensitive care.”
The abortion providers seeking a temporary restraining order — and eventually permanent injunction against the order — include Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, Planned Parenthood Greater Texas, Planned Parenthood South Texas, Whole Woman’s Health, Whole Woman’s Health Alliance, Southwestern Women’s Surgery Center and their co-medical director, Robin Wallace, and Austin Women’s Health Center.
“It is unconscionable that abortion providers are fighting against the health of Texans and withholding desperately needed supplies and personal protective equipment in favor of a procedure that they refer to as a ‘choice,’” Paxton said in a statement Wednesday night. “My office will tirelessly defend Governor Abbott’s Order to ensure that necessary supplies reach the medical professionals combating this national health crisis.”
The office of the governor did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday night. Others listed as defendants are county district attorneys and the heads of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, Texas Medical Board and Texas Board of Nursing.
Alexis McGill Johnson, the acting president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said during a press conference Wednesday that Abbott’s administration is exploiting the pandemic to limit access to abortion.
“This is (a) cruel, irresponsible use of state power in a time of great uncertainty,” Johnson said. “Elected officials should be focused on responding to the crisis at hand, not playing politics with people’s healthcare.”
At this time, Planned Parenthood is unable to provide surgical abortions in Texas due to the order, said Helene Krasnoff, the vice president for public policy litigation and law for Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
Amy Hagstrom-Miller, the president and CEO of Whole Woman’s Health and Whole Woman’s Health Alliance — which operates a clinic in Fort Worth — said that clinic staff have already had to cancel over 150 appointments this week, and that some patients have driven over 250 miles to visit their clinics.
“In this public health crisis when many people are already financially insecure and futures are uncertain, access to care cannot be delayed,” Hagstrom-Miller said.
At a minimum, patients will be delayed abortions for weeks or even months, the lawsuit argues, and some will not be able to access services and have to carry their pregnancies to term.
“Not only will these patients be deprived of their constitutional right to essential healthcare and self-determination, but forcing them to continue their pregnancies will in fact impose far greater strains on an already-taxed healthcare system, as prenatal care and delivery involve much greater exhaustion of hospital health care services and PPE than abortions,” the lawsuit reads.
The lawsuit also notes that Paxton’s news release said the order applies to “any type of abortion,” suggesting it prohibits medical abortions, which are often induced by taking pills.
“This appears to be the only oral medication targeted in this manner,” the lawsuit reads.
Abortion providers have asked the attorney general’s office to clarify if medical abortions could proceed. Molly Duane, an attorney with the Center for Reproductive Rights, which is representing some of the plaintiffs, said they have yet to hear back from Paxton’s office.
“The lack of clarity from the state has really thrown abortion access in the state into disarray and that’s why we’re here today filing this lawsuit,” Duane said.
Other states that have passed similar restrictions on elective medical procedures have run into the same question. Officials in states like Washington and Massachusetts clarified that under their orders abortions can continue as planned. 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.
This story was originally published March 25, 2020 at 7:33 PM.
