Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Appeals Court Rules Texas Can Ban Common Method Of Abortion
The New York Times: Texas Can Ban Common Form Of Second-Trimester Abortion, Appeals Court Rules
A federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld a Texas law banning the most common form of second-trimester abortion, ruling that a lower court had erred in finding that the law imposed “an undue burden on a large fraction of women.” At issue is a Texas law that was passed in 2017 but has not yet been in effect because of legal battles. The law, known as Senate Bill 8, prohibits a dilation-and-evacuation abortion method and requires doctors to use alternative abortion methods, according to Wednesday’s decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. (Paybarah, 8/18)
AP: Appeals Court Upholds Texas Law To Ban Abortion Procedure
A Texas law outlawing an abortion method commonly used to end second-trimester pregnancies was upheld Wednesday by a federal appeals court in New Orleans. The 2017 law in question has never been enforced. It seeks to prohibit the use of forceps to remove a fetus from the womb — what supporters of the law call a “dismemberment abortion” — without first using an injected drug or a suction procedure to ensure the fetus is dead. (McGill, 8/19)
The Hill: Federal Appeals Court Upholds Texas Ban On Standard Abortion Procedure
Abortion advocates have argued that dilation and evacuation is one of the safest abortion methods in the second trimester of pregnancy, and that fetuses are not able to feel pain during the pregnancy period specified in the Texas law. Amy Hagstrom Miller, president of Whole Woman’s Health, which is one of the plaintiffs in the case, on Wednesday argued that the Texas ban “is about cutting off abortion access, and nothing else.” “In no other area of medicine would politicians consider preventing doctors from using a standard procedure,” she said in a statement. “It should never be a crime for doctors to use their best medical judgment and follow the most current science.” (Castronuovo, 8/18)
