The Texas Supreme Court on Friday blocked a lower court order that had allowed abortionists in the state to continue seeing patients.
Texas has had an abortion ban in place that was unenforceable during the 50 years that Roe v. Wade legalized abortion. After the Supreme Court overturned Roe last week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton warned that “abortion providers could be criminally liable for providing abortions starting today” because of Texas’s “abortion prohibitions predating Roe.”
A Houston judge issued a ruling earlier this week allowing clinics to temporarily resume abortions up to six weeks into pregnancy.
Paxton responded to the ruling by asking the state Supreme Court to temporarily put the order on hold.
A hearing is scheduled for later this month.
Marc Hearron, an attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights called the laws “confusing, unnecessary, and cruel,” after the Texas Supreme Court issued its order on Friday night.
Paxton celebrated the state Supreme Court’s ruling on Saturday morning, calling it a “pro-life victory.”
Pro-life victory! Thanks to my appeal, SCOTX has slapped down the abortion providers and the district court carrying their water. Our state’s pre-Roe statutes banning abortion in Texas are 100% good law. Litigation continues, but I’ll keep winning for Texas’s unborn babies. pic.twitter.com/xgQuDtEXQu
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) July 2, 2022
“Our state’s pre-Roe statues banning abortion in Texas are 100% good law,” he wrote in a tweet accompanied by a screenshot of the order. “Litigation continues, but I’ll keep winning for Texas’s unborn babies.”