At issue is a state law passed earlier this year, Senate Bill 8, that would ban live dismemberment abortions. A live dismemberment abortion is exactly what it sounds like: a doctor uses forceps to tear apart a live fetus, limb by limb, and remove it from the mother’s uterus. This is usually done in the second trimester, when the fetus is too large to be suctioned out.
The law in question wouldn’t ban such a procedure, but it would require abortion doctors in Texas to ensure that a fetus is dead before they dismember it. The case, Whole Woman’s Health v. Paxton, hinges on the constitutionality of the Texas law and marks the first time the merits of such a statute have been considered at a trial.
Other states have passed similar bans of live dismemberment abortion, and some of those laws have been challenged in court without proceeding to the trial phase. Arkansas and Alabama immediately appealed temporary restraining orders against their bans, forgoing trials at the district court level. Texas did not, opting instead for a five-day trial before federal district court Judge Lee Yeakel, which concluded Wednesday. No doubt Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wants to build a record in anticipation of an eventual hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Texas Court Case Exposes The Gruesome Reality Of Dismemberment Abortion
Abortion providers in Texas don’t think the state should require them to kill a fetus before dismembering it in its mother’s womb.
The law in question wouldn’t ban such a procedure, but it would require abortion doctors in Texas to ensure that a fetus is dead before they dismember it. The case, Whole Woman’s Health v. Paxton, hinges on the constitutionality of the Texas law and marks the first time the merits of such a statute have been considered at a trial.
Other states have passed similar bans of live dismemberment abortion, and some of those laws have been challenged in court without proceeding to the trial phase. Arkansas and Alabama immediately appealed temporary restraining orders against their bans, forgoing trials at the district court level. Texas did not, opting instead for a five-day trial before federal district court Judge Lee Yeakel, which concluded Wednesday. No doubt Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wants to build a record in anticipation of an eventual hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Texas Court Case Exposes The Gruesome Reality Of Dismemberment Abortion
Abortion providers in Texas don’t think the state should require them to kill a fetus before dismembering it in its mother’s womb.