Federal Court Rules in Favor of Texas' Abortion ban

Last month, Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) made an executive order placing a ban on elective procedures in order to ensure that medical supplies like gowns and masks for health care workers are available to combat the growing threat of the coronavirus. It was also noted that the order applied to abortions sans the woman’s life being at risk.

This was seen as a controversial measure and it received unprecedented opposition.

This week, a federal appeals court ruled in favor of the executive order, in a ruling of 2-1.

The arguments from the two majority judges on the appeals court cited previous rulings with one judge saying that “’under the pressure of great dangers,’ constitutional rights may be reasonably restricted ‘as the safety of the general public may demand.’”

Another judge added that “that settled rule allows states to restrict, for example, one’s right to peacefully assemble, to publicly worship, to travel, and even to leave one’s home,” noting that “the right to abortion is no exception.”

However, the judge who countered the executive order expressed that “in a time where panic and fear already consume our daily lives, the majority’s opinion inflicts further panic and fear on women in Texas by depriving them, without justification, of their constitutional rights.”

Most recently, federal courts in Ohio and Alabama have blocked similar executive orders, and the state of Iowa determined that doctors would be allowed to determine if an abortion was necessary.