Judge blocks ban on some Texas abortions during outbreak
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A federal judge has ordered that Texas abortion clinics may continue to perform abortions in some cases, either those using medication or those involving patients for whom delays would pose an essential ban.
The ruling came in a 16-page opinion filed Thursday by U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel of Austin and appears to fly in the face of an appeals court ruling that upheld a ban imposed by Gov. Greg Abbott last month.
In an executive order, Abbott last month had banned all but essential medical procedures during the emergency caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and abortions were among the procedures banned. Yeakel had put the total ban on hold, but enforcement of the order was upheld by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Planned Parenthood and other clinics then asked Yeakel to allow abortions in some cases, including medication abortions and abortions in which a delay would push a pregnancy past the state's legal cutoff of 22 weeks, making the procedure illegal.
Read more: https://www.oaoa.com/news/state/article_83215955-d496-52b8-80af-e1d623940954.html
(Odessa American)
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