Federal judges on Monday have temporarily blocked state legislatures in Alabama, Texas, and Ohio from using the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to ban abortion. Earlier on Monday, advocates from Alabama, Iowa, Ohio, and Oklahoma came together to file lawsuits against state officials over orders to temporarily ban abortion procedures during the crisis; a lawsuit was filed in Texas last week.
Governors and other state officials used the crisis to push their anti-abortion agenda by claiming that abortions were nonessential surgeries that could be put off due to the limited number of medical supplies available. Orders limiting abortion access in the states followed federal guidelines to postpone all medically unnecessary surgeries and procedures to preserve supplies for potential coronavirus victims.
Tuesday, Mar 31, 2020 · 7:11:26 PM +00:00 · Aysha Qamar
In a turn of events, Texas’s temporary abortion ban is going back into effect. While the ban was lifted Monday when a lower court ruled that suspending abortion services was in violation of Roe v. Wade, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary stay order reinforcing it Tuesday. The state will now discontinue abortions unless they are “medically necessary to preserve the life or health” of a patient.
Campaign Action
The Texas ruling was the first decision on Monday in which Federal Judge Lee Yeakel wrote that the state attorney general’s interpretation of the federal order prevents women from exercising their “constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy before a fetus is viable.” Yeakel added that delaying abortions would not only increase risks for some patients but “deprive them of any access to abortion,” according to CNN.
Last week Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said that “any type of abortion that is not medically necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother” was included in the governor’s order to postpone nonessential surgeries. Yeakel argued against saving resources, emphasizing that the benefits of reducing medical equipment usage are “outweighed by the harm of eliminating abortion access in the midst of a pandemic that increases the risks of continuing an unwanted pregnancy, as well as the risks of traveling to other states in search of time-sensitive medical care.” Traveling during not only a pandemic but a time in which social distance is emphasized and travel is discouraged is a great risk for individuals.
After the ruling, Paxton mentioned intentions of appeal on the basis that medical professionals have limited supplies to conduct such surgeries."My office is seeking prompt appellate review to ensure that medical professionals on the frontlines have the supplies and protective gear they desperately need," Paxton said. "We will fight tirelessly against this politically-driven lawsuit to protect the health of Texans suffering from this COVID-19 crisis." The order will last until April 13.
Ohio was the second state to have a federal judge halt temporary orders to stop abortions Monday. Federal Judge Michael Barrett wrote that the Ohio Department of Health's order to include abortions in nonessential procedures "likely places an 'undue burden' on a woman's right to choose a pre-viability abortion, and thus violates her right to privacy guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment."
Earlier this month, Ohio’s Attorney General Dave Yost sent letters to health care providers in the state to stop all “nonessential and elective surgical abortions,” referring to federal guidelines in place to help conserve needed medical supplies, Vox reported. “If you or your facility do not immediately stop performing nonessential or elective surgical abortions in compliance with the [health director’s] order, the Department of Health will take all appropriate measures,” the letter read.
A federal judge in Alabama followed suit and issued a similar ruling: "Because Alabama law imposes time limits on when women can obtain abortions, the March 27 order is likely to fully prevent some women from exercising their right to obtain an abortion," Federal Judge Myron Thompson wrote. Thompson also temporarily stopped the order until April 13. "And for those women who, despite the mandatory postponement, are able to vindicate their right, the required delay may pose an undue burden that is not justified by the State's purported rationales.”
While these three rulings come as good news for advocates, Iowa and Oklahoma still have pending lawsuits against them filed Monday. According to CNN, other states—including Mississippi and Kentucky—have also included abortion in the list of nonessential surgeries that should be put off due to the need to preserve medical supplies during the pandemic. These temporary orders shed light on the corrupt agenda many politicians have, even during such a pandemic.
Using the current crisis and concerns about the lack of medical equipment available to providers as an excuse to limit abortion access is not only disgusting, but unconstitutional. “Abortion care is time-sensitive and essential health care that has a profound impact on a person's health and life, which is why it is protected as a constitutional right," Nancy Northup, president and CEO at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement.
Reproductive rights are fundamental human rights that each person is entitled to. While abortion access should always be available, during such a crisis it is more important because the lack of health care access during a pandemic can lead to a higher risk for individuals, including unsafe methods of abortion. Policies that stop or limit abortion do not eliminate the need for safe abortions but instead restrict women’s right to a choice and increase the number of unsafe abortions and maternal health problems that occur.