Fifth Circuit Rules Texas Can Restrict Medication Abortions During Covid-19 Crisis
Source: Courthouse News
DAVID LEE April 20, 2020
NEW ORLEANS (CN) The Fifth Circuit restored Texas ban on most abortions during the Covid-19 pandemic Monday evening, criticizing an Austin federal trial judge for ignoring its earlier reinstatement and for erroneously allowing medication abortions to continue.
In a 21 ruling, a three-judge panel with the New Orleans-based appeals court granted a petition for writ of mandamus to Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton both Republicans to revoke U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakels April 9 temporary restraining order allowing medication abortions for pregnancies up to ten weeks gestation and surgical abortions for pregnancies reaching 18 weeks.
U.S. Circuit Judge Kyle Duncan an appointee of President Donald Trump and U.S. Circuit Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod an appointee of President George W. Bush blasted the trial judges patently erroneous results and usurpation of the states authority to craft emergency health measures in carving the two exceptions. They scolded Yeakel for ignoring the entire point of a mitigation measure like Abbotts abortion ban.
The concept of flattening the curve has become all-too-familiar during the pandemic: as applied to GA-09, it means that delaying procedures now may prevent short-term exhaustion of critical medical resources, the 26-page opinion states. This is one stated goal of GA-09: it does not prohibit non-essential procedures, it delays them. As its findings show, however, the district court preferred to second-guess this strategy.
Read more: https://www.courthousenews.com/fifth-circuit-rules-texas-can-restrict-medication-abortions-during-covid-19-crisis/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fifth-circuit-rules-texas-can-restrict-medication-abortions-during-covid-19-crisis
Judge Kyle Duncan
Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod
niyad
(113,464 posts)Grins
(7,218 posts)dhill926
(16,349 posts)Initech
(100,087 posts)rockfordfile
(8,704 posts)Jennifer Walker a right-wing pos
Demovictory9
(32,464 posts)Gothmog
(145,374 posts)Igel
(35,323 posts)There was no "abortion ban." There was a ban on surgeries and medical procedures that were not essential but which used either PPE or hospital capacity.
Reading it as a separate abortion ban is only possible if you didn't actually read it but just trusted others to summarize the 150-word paragraph for you in a 1200 word article.
Solly Mack
(90,775 posts)Lonestarblue
(10,024 posts)I hope this gets appealed for the sake of precedent.
Polybius
(15,461 posts)They could use this to strike down Roe or significantly weaken it nationwide. As painful as it is to say this, it might be best to halt any further appeals.