Abortion rights advocates say that a decision from a federal appeals court to temporarily allow Texas to uphold restrictions to abortion access during the coronavirus outbreak could put more lives in danger.
In a 2-1 ruling on Tuesday, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals put a hold on an order issued by a federal judge blocking Texas officials from restricting abortion access. A state policy requiring the postponement of “non-urgent” medical procedures during the COVID-19 outbreak will now include abortion care.
Texas officials will be able to move forward with the rule, which is being enforced as part of an executive order from Gov. Greg Abbott, while the court deliberates on the legal merits of the policy.
Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who announced the policy last week, welcomed the decision, thanking the court for “their immediate and careful attention to the health and safety needs of Texans suffering from the spread of COVID-19.”
“The temporary stay ordered this afternoon justly prioritizes supplies and personal protective equipment for the medical professionals in need,” Paxton said, according to Reuters.
Abortion rights advocates, including Planned Parenthood, have condemned the decision, accusing Texas officials of exploiting the coronavirus outbreak to advance an anti-abortion agenda. Advocates have warned that the policy could potentially endanger pregnant woman who would be forced to travel hundreds of miles from home to receive an abortion out-of-state, despite a statewide “stay-at-home” order in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
“How heartless do you have to be to, in a time of crisis, take extraordinary measures to take away people’s health care?” Alexis McGill Johnson, the acting president and CEO, Planned Parenthood Federation of America said in a statement. “Abortion is essential health care, and it is urgent and time-sensitive.”
“While people everywhere are trying to survive the COVID-19 pandemic, politicians like Gov. Abbott continue this perverse obsession with banning abortion. Those who are caring for their families, forced to work essential jobs, and doing what they can to stay healthy need access to health care right now. Instead, these politicians are forcing patients to travel hundreds of miles putting themselves and their families at risk,” McGill Johnson said.
“No other form of health care is being targeted this way—only abortion,” the Planned Parenthood acting president and CEO said. “Don’t be fooled: Gov. Abbott’s use of his executive order to ban abortion has nothing to do with health or safety. If Gov. Abbott cared about the lives of Texans, he’d be addressing the public health crisis at hand.”
In a separate statement, Nancy Northup, the president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, accused the 5th Circuit of “escalating the fear and confusion women seeking abortion in Texas are already experiencing.”
The decision came a day after federal judges issued orders requiring Ohio and Alabama to allow abortion clinics to operate amid the coronavirus outbreak.
In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, abortion rights advocates have fought to keep abortion facilities open amid a growing push to see the procedure branded a non-essential and non-urgent service.
