Texas heads to court to defend ban on dismemberment abortions

Lawyers for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton went to hearing at Austin's federal courthouse on Tuesday to defend a legislation that would ban dismemberment abortions.

Texas abortion providers filed a lawsuit in July, seeking to block a provision in Senate Bill 8 that would ban dismemberment abortions, a method typically used in the second trimester in which the unborn baby is ripped apart in the womb and pulled out in pieces. The abortionists argued that the measure would outlaw the safest and most used method of second-trimester abortions known as dilation and evacuation or D&E.

Paxton's lawyer, Darren McCarty, argued that the law would not ban D&E, noting that it merely requires doctors to ensure "fetal demise" before beginning the procedure. He further noted that the measure "requires the humane termination of an unborn child's life before it is torn apart and evacuated."

"The state has a legitimate interest in banning or regulating a particularly gruesome procedure," McCarty added.

However, a lawyer representing abortion clinics and doctors claimed that the three methods of causing fetal demise identified by the state are not fully effective, carry increased risks for women, and are untested in pregnancies of less than 18 weeks.

The hearing was attended by leaders with Texas Right to Life, who explained: "The abortion industry disingenuously argued in court that the Dismemberment Abortion Ban raises an undue burden to women seeking second trimester abortions by banning all D&E abortions."

"In filings and in court, the Attorney General's office powerfully argued SB 8 clearly only prohibits one specific type of D&E abortion, which the state Legislature defined as 'Dismemberment Abortions,'" the pro-life group leaders added.

The law, passed by the legislature in May and signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in June, is scheduled to take effect on Friday.

On Tuesday, the Center for Reproductive Rights asked U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel to issue a temporary restraining order to block Texas from enforcing the law. If granted, the legislation will be blocked for 14 days, with the option of extending the order for another 14 days.

Yeakel is expected to issue a ruling starting Friday to determine if Texas can enforce the regulations on second-trimester abortions. He will then conduct another trial — likely in September — on whether the law should be tossed out or kept, according to Austin-American Statesman.

The law, which was based on a model legislation from the National Right to Life Committee, made Texas the eighth state in the country to ban dismemberment abortions. Other states that have implemented the Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act were Arkansas, Alabama, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and West Virginia.