Federal Judge Murders Worst Part Of Texas Abortion Law, Remaining Parts Still Terrible

A federal judge has ruled one part of Texas's terrible abortion law unconstitutional and partially blocked another part. The worst provision, which required all doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges within 30 miles of the clinic and would have effectively closed all but a handful of clinics in the state, was overruled by U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel. Unfortunately, this still doesn't mean that Texas women should look forward to having a big ol' abortion party just yet; the state is planning to appeal the ruling because it cares so much about women's health that it really wants to make them birth more babies.

Gov. Rick Perry said that the ruling would not get in the way of Texas's determination to "protect life and ensure the women of our state aren’t exposed to any more of the abortion-mill horror stories that have made headlines recently." Because if you make it impossible to get a legal abortion, no one ever chooses an unsafe back-alley option. That's just logic, just like it was in 1961. 

In addition to tossing the admitting privileges part of the law, Yeakel partially upheld new restrictions on drug-induced abortions, but allowed some room for doctors to exercise judgment in those cases as well. The law requires that doctors use outdated FDA-recommended dosing for the drugs, not the safer "off-label protocol" recommended by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Yeakel loosened the restrictions slightly, ruling that

the medication abortion provisions may not be enforced against any physician who determines, in appropriate medical judgment, to perform a medication-abortion using the off-label protocol for the preservation of the life or health of the mother.”

Again, this has to be appealed, because sneaky doctors think all sorts of crazy permissive stuff is necessary for women's "health."

The law's other restrictions were allowed to stand, including the banning of all abortions past 20 weeks of pregnancy. So while Texas clinics won't be forced to shut down, they'll still be serving fewer women, under more restrictive conditions. Gotta make those sluts suffer, ya know, because life is precious and must be protected, at least until the precious, precious babby is born and it becomes a worthless taker and burden on hardworking taxpayers.

[ Texas Tribune / Baylor Lariat / Guernica ]