Austin Chronicle: Ultrasound Reimposed by Appeals Court
By Jordan Smith
“Last week’s 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals opinion – overturning an injunction that had barred final implementation of Texas’ new ultrasound-before-abortion law – may ‘barely have touched on the issues’ raised in a lawsuit before the district court last year. ‘But that’s the Circuit,’ federal district Judge Sam Sparks said from the bench on Jan. 20. Indeed, during a short hearing Friday afternoon, Sparks seemed resigned that the 5th Circuit had hijacked the case, offering a ruling that may legally bind his hands. Sparks heard the case last year when CRR argued that by mandating medical procedures, the law violates doctors’ First Amendment protections. Sparks granted a temporary injunction pending appeal, but the 5th Circuit ruled, essentially, that the law is constitutional. Arguing for Sparks to instead make a finding consistent with his previous ruling, CRR attorney Julie Rikelman argued that the 5th Circuit ‘overlooked some of the key arguments’. For example, she said, the court ruled that displaying an image or providing audio of a fetal heartbeat is merely ‘factual’ information and not furthering an ‘ideological’ message. However, she argued, ‘forcing those images and sounds’ on a woman who may not want them as part of a procedure that may not be medically necessary, ‘is ideological’ and not ‘reasonable regulations to the practice of medicine’. Sparks’ ruling is pending, and any ruling will almost certainly again be appealed to the 5th Circuit.”
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