Texas - Court allows woman to have abortion - Attorney General threatens
In a major case concerning abortion rights in the US state of Texas, a court has allowed a woman to terminate a pregnancy. The pregnant woman had filed a lawsuit against the restrictive abortion ban in Texas and was upheld by a court in Austin on Thursday.
According to doctors, the 31-year-old's child will not survive to birth or will die shortly afterwards, as reported by US media. Without an abortion, there is also a risk of complications in a future pregnancy and a general health risk for the woman. However, she was denied an abortion in view of the extensive ban on abortion in Texas. The court has now issued a temporary injunction and allowed the abortion.
The ruling in Texas is of great significance because, according to the US media, it is the first publicly known case of a woman successfully suing for an emergency abortion since the end of the nationwide right to abortion. A year and a half ago, the US Supreme Court overturned the right to abortion that had been in force in the country since 1973. The states now have sovereignty over legislation - a legal patchwork has been created.
Attorney General threatens the doctors
In the Republican-ruled state of Texas, the regulations are particularly strict. Abortion is prohibited in almost all cases - unless the mother' s life is in danger. However, critics argue that the exceptions are so vaguely worded that doctors often do not perform abortions for fear of being sued. It can be assumed that Texas will appeal against the decision. The state's Attorney General, Ken Paxton, has already threatened doctors who may perform abortions. "The injunction does not protect you or anyone else from civil or criminal liability," he wrote.
The judge, however, was clear when she announced her decision on Thursday. "Now a patient must be on the verge of death before a doctor can invoke the exception. This attitude is not only cruel and dangerous, but also violates the Texas Constitution, medical ethics and the laws themselves," US media quoted Judge Maya Guerra Gamble, a Democrat, as saying. The idea that the plaintiff wanted to be a mother again, but that the laws in Texas could ensure that she could lose this ability, was "shocking and would be a real miscarriage of justice".
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Source: www.stern.de
