Appeals Court Allows Texas To Ban Abortions During Pandemic
There are few issues more divisive than abortion. The different viewpoints and subtleties of this argument have been hotly debated for decades. However, since Roe v. Wade it has been pretty well settled that people have a right to make this difficult decision, with public opinion varying on a truly diverse spectrum with intricately nuanced facets.
We have, recently, seen an increase in some states to seek to make the procuring of abortions more and more restrictive, and now the topic seems to be on the front burner yet again. Of course, isn't it always?
Now that we are all neck deep in the COVID-19 pandemic, one might think abortion would be temporarily set aside as governments and communities do their best to focus on the crisis at hand. Yet in Texas, on March 24, CBS News reported "Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ordered all abortion services immediately halted, with the limited exception of those that are "necessary to preserve the life or health" of the patient. Those in violation faced "penalties of up to $1,000 or 180 days of jail time."'
In response to a subsequent joint complaint filed by Planned Parenthood, The Center for Reproductive Rights, and The Lawyering Project, a federal judge blocked the ban with the view that this ban was in direct contradiction to a supreme court ruling that seeking abortion services was a "fundamental constitutional right."
After the block, Attorney General Ken Paxton appealed to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, a higher court, who ruled today in favor of upholding the ban.
I'm fairly certain this won't be the end of this struggle.
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