Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers are suing the State of Texas after lawmakers moved to ban elective abortions during the Chinese coronavirus pandemic that’s gripped the state.
This past weekend, Gov. Greg Abbott signed an executive order banning unnecessary medical procedures in an effort to preserve the state’s healthcare capacity to serve Chinese coronavirus patients.
“No one is exempt from the governor’s executive order on medically unnecessary surgeries and procedures, including abortion providers. Those who violate the governor’s order will be met with the full force of the law,” warned Paxton, arguing that a violation of the ban could result in a fine of $1,000 or 180 days in jail.
The prospect of not being able to provide life-ending services to women was too much for Planned Parenthood to bear, and the organization filed a federal lawsuit.
In a press conference announcing the legal action, Sealy Massingill, the chief medical officer of the organization in Texas, accused the Lone Star State’s top elected leaders of “playing politics” for their efforts to protect human life.
“I find it extremely distressing … that we are trying to respond to a purely political fight that [Gov. Greg Abbott] started. Patients who need abortions are on a time-sensitive deadline,” Massingill said in a Wednesday press conference.
“Abortion is essential healthcare, and it is a time-sensitive service,” Whole Woman’s Health’s Amy Hagstrom Miller said of the procedure that terminates the life of an unborn baby.
Paxton slammed the Planned Parenthood lawsuit on Twitter, saying it was “unconscionable that abortion providers are fighting against the health of Texans and withholding desperately needed supplies and personal protective equipment in favor of a procedure that they refer to as a ‘choice’” and saying he would “tirelessly defend” the order.
It is unconscionable that abortion providers are fighting against the health of Texans and withholding desperately needed supplies and
personal protective equipment in favor of a procedure that they refer to as a ‘choice.’— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) March 26, 2020
My office will tirelessly defend Governor Abbott’s Order to ensure that necessary supplies reach the medical professionals combating this national health crisis.
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) March 26, 2020
While the case has yet to proceed to court, plaintiffs argue that Abbott’s order and Paxton’s interpretation of it have already resulted in 150 canceled abortion procedure appointments in the Lone Star State.
