AUSTIN, TEXAS – On Wednesday, Planned Parenthood joined other abortion providers in suing Texas for deciding to ban abortions during the coronavirus outbreak, including a clinic owner claiming the weekend’s order Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s end has already resulted in more than 150 canceled appointments.
The federal lawsuit filed in Austin, Texas is one of the most high-profile challenges in a government response to the coronavirus pandemic. Abortion providers have accused Republican leaders in Texas of exploiting the pandemic for political gain after Abbott on Sunday stopped non-essential surgeries to free up medical supplies to fight COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
This was followed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, who said the order banned “any type of abortion that is not medically necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother.”
The order in Texas is in effect until at least April 21.
“Abortion is essential care and it is an urgent service,” said Amy Hagstrom Miller, president of Whole Woman’s Health. She said the more than 150 cancellations at her three clinics in Texas have left some women “begging for the abortions they need.”
Hours before the complaint was filed, Paxton said in an interview with a conservative group called Texas Values that the state would monitor all medical procedures and all unnecessary procedures should be stopped, which he said included abortion.
In a statement released Wednesday night, Paxton called it “unreasonable for abortion providers to fight against the health of Texans and withhold the supplies and personal protective equipment they desperately need in favor of a procedure they desperately need. call it a “choice”.
“My office will tirelessly defend Governor Abbott’s order to ensure that the necessary supplies reach the healthcare professionals fighting this national health crisis,” the Attorney General said.
He has previously said that failure to comply with the order can result in penalties of up to $ 1,000 or 180 days in jail.
“This is obviously going to save lives, which we hope will continue,” Paxton said. “I don’t even see how the people who are on the other side of this right now would dispute that we need our hospitals to take care of the really sick.”
The lawsuit challenged this view, saying that “” the COVID-19 pandemic and its fallout are not reducing patients’ abortion needs; on the contrary, they make rapid access to abortion even more urgent. “
Texas has more than 1,200 cases of the coronavirus, according to a current tally maintained by Johns Hopkins University. At least a dozen people have died.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild to moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, which go away within two to three weeks. For some, especially the elderly and people with existing health problems, it can cause more serious illnesses, including pneumonia and death.
Texas has been a battleground for abortion rights for a decade. Whole Woman’s Health also sued Texas over a sweeping 2013 anti-abortion law that shut down more than half of Texas abortion clinics before it was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The problem of abortion during the pandemic also erupted during the pandemic also erupted in Ohio, where abortion clinics received letters from Republican Attorney General Dave Yost on Friday ordering them to stop all “no” surgical abortions. essential ”. Yost wrote that the proceedings violate a March 17 order issued by the state’s health director.
However, representatives from the Ohio clinics said they were complying with the health director’s order and planning to continue performing abortions.
