Skip to content
Center for Reproductive Rights
Center for Reproductive Rights

Primary Menu

  • About
    • Overview
    • Center Leadership & Staff
    • Pro Bono Program
    • Creative Council
    • Annual Reports
    • Contact Us
    • Careers
    • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
  • Work
    • Overview
    • Litigation
    • Legal Policy and Advocacy
    • Resources & Research
    • Recent Case Highlights
    • Landmark Cases
    • World’s Abortion Laws Map
    • What if Roe Fell? U.S. Abortion Laws Map
  • Issues
    • Overview
    • Abortion
    • Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
    • Assisted Reproduction
    • Contraception
    • Humanitarian Settings
    • Maternal Health
    • COVID-19
  • Regions
    • Overview
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • Latin America and the Caribbean
    • United States
    • Global Advocacy
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Center in the Spotlight
    • Events
    • Press Releases
    • Press Room
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Resources & Research
    • World Abortion Laws Map
    • What if Roe Fell? U.S. Abortion Laws Map
    • Take Action Toolkit
  • Act
    • Overview
    • Give
    • Act
    • Learn
  • Donate
    • Make a Gift Now
    • Be a Champion
    • Join the Advocates Council
    • Become a Major Donor
    • Give Through Your Donor-Advised Fund
    • Make a Gift In Honor
    • Attend an Event
    • Leave a Legacy
    • More Ways to Give
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
Donate
icon-hamburger icon-magnifying-glass Donate
icon-magnifying-glass-teal
Center for Reproductive Rights - Center for Reproductive Rights - search logo
search Close Close icon
Center for Reproductive Rights -
Menu Close Menu Close icon
Donate

Primary Menu

  • About
    • Overview
    • Center Leadership & Staff
    • Pro Bono Program
    • Creative Council
    • Annual Reports
    • Contact Us
    • Careers
    • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
  • Work
    • Overview
    • Litigation
    • Legal Policy and Advocacy
    • Resources & Research
    • Recent Case Highlights
    • Landmark Cases
    • World’s Abortion Laws Map
    • What if Roe Fell? U.S. Abortion Laws Map
  • Issues
    • Overview
    • Abortion
    • Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
    • Assisted Reproduction
    • Contraception
    • Humanitarian Settings
    • Maternal Health
    • COVID-19
  • Regions
    • Overview
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • Latin America and the Caribbean
    • United States
    • Global Advocacy
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Center in the Spotlight
    • Events
    • Press Releases
    • Press Room
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Resources & Research
    • World Abortion Laws Map
    • What if Roe Fell? U.S. Abortion Laws Map
    • Take Action Toolkit
  • Act
    • Overview
    • Give
    • Act
    • Learn
  • Donate
    • Make a Gift Now
    • Be a Champion
    • Join the Advocates Council
    • Become a Major Donor
    • Give Through Your Donor-Advised Fund
    • Make a Gift In Honor
    • Attend an Event
    • Leave a Legacy
    • More Ways to Give
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn

Related Content

Issues:

Abortion

Regions:

United States

Work:

In the Courts

Type:

News, Story

Case Archive

For updates on this case and others, explore our case archive here.

Follow the Center

Donate Now

Join Now

  • Hidden

10.14.2020

In the Courts Abortion United States News

Texas Ban on Standard Abortion Procedure Struck Down; Would Have Interfered with Doctors’ Judgment

Justin Goldberg

Share this Story

  • facebook
  • Twitter
  • linkedin
  • Email id
Decision marks another win by the Center and its partners in striking down state abortion restrictions.

UPDATE: On October 30, the full Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals announced that on its own initiative it has decided to review this case, thus vacating the October 13 ruling by a three-judge panel of the Court striking down the Texas law, as reported below.



____________



The Center for Reproductive Rights and its partners secured a victory for the people of Texas yesterday when the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a state law that banned the standard procedure for abortion care after approximately 15 weeks of pregnancy. The ban would have interfered with doctors’ best medical judgment on how to treat their patients.



“Politicians should never decide what medical procedures a patient can and cannot receive,” said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights. “This ruling follows decades of Supreme Court precedent and the Fifth Circuit has joined every other federal court in striking down these types of bans.” The decision strikes a blow against Texas’s strategy of banning abortion one procedure at a time.



The case, Whole Woman’s Health v. Paxton, was brought on behalf of Whole Woman’s Health and other Texas abortion providers by the Center, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Morrison & Foerster, and Patrick J. O’Connell.



Banning the Standard of Care



The Texas restriction would have interfered with doctors’ ability to use their best medical judgment. The law banned the dilation and evacuation (D&E) procedure, which is the standard of abortion care after approximately 15 weeks of pregnancy. Doctors who violated the ban would have faced up to two years in prison.



Major medical organizations, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), strongly oppose these types of bans. ACOG noted that “these restrictions represent legislative interference at its worst: doctors will be forced, by ill-advised, unscientifically motivated policy, to provide lesser care to patients. This is unacceptable.”



“Today’s win is an important one for people not only in Texas but across the country,” said Amy Hagstrom Miller, president and CEO of Whole Woman’s Health. “Everyone deserves to benefit from advancements in medicine and from expert medical care, no matter where they live. With this victory, our physicians can continue to practice to the highest level of their training, and Texans will continue to benefit from their expertise. We are proud, once again, to lead the charge challenging bad laws and ensuring that all Texans get the healthcare they deserve.”



About the Case



After the Texas law was challenged in 2017, the federal district court in Texas struck it down as unconstitutional. Texas appealed the decision to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which delayed its ruling pending the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in June Medical Services v. Russo, another Center case. In June 2020, the Supreme Court issued its ruling in that case, striking down a different Louisiana abortion restriction.



The Texas decision notes that the state’s ban falls afoul of the undue burden standard, the legal test most recently affirmed by the Supreme Court in June Medical. Judge James L. Dennis, writing for the Court, accordingly weighed the law’s “significant burdens upon female patients against its nonexistent health benefits.” The Court further wrote that “[this law] unduly burdens a woman’s constitutionally-protected right to obtain a previability abortion,” and that the law “also forces abortion providers to act contrary to their medical judgment and the best interest of their patient by conducting a medical procedure that delivers no benefit to the woman.”



The decision is consistent with rulings in other states. Similar laws are not being fully enforced or have been blocked by courts in Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Oklahoma, and last year, the Supreme Court declined to review a lower court decision striking down a similar ban in Alabama. 



Recent Center lawsuits have blocked other state abortion restrictions, including, in July, abortion bans beginning at six weeks of pregnancy in Georgia and Tennessee, and, in September, a medication abortion “reversal” law in Tennessee.



Texas Already Hostile to Abortion Access



Texas is already one of the nation’s most hostile states for people seeking abortion care. The state imposes a slew of abortion restrictions, including state-mandated biased counseling, a two-trip requirement and mandatory 24-hour delay in care, a ban on the use of telemedicine to provide medication abortion, a ban on insurance coverage for abortion, a parental consent and notification law, and many more. Texas also has one of the country’s highest maternal mortality rates.



Earlier this year, Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton exploited the COVID-19 pandemic to temporarily ban abortion in Texas for approximately one month. While the abortion ban was in effect, patients were forced to travel hundreds of miles across state lines to access the care they needed.



The Texas abortion ban thrown out in yesterday’s ruling is part of an ongoing nationwide effort to legislate abortion out of existence. State politicians have passed more than 450 restrictions since 2011, including 22 in Texas. These harmful restrictions reduce access to care and harm marginalized communities the most, including people of color, young people, people living in poverty, and those living in rural areas.



Details about abortion restrictions in Texas can be found on the Center’s “What if Roe Fell?” digital tool that maps out each state’s abortion policies.


Related Posts

Azar v. Garza Amicus Brief

Abortion,United States,In the Courts

Complaint: Falls Church Healthcare Center et al. v. Norman Oliver et al.

Abortion,United States,In the Courts

Amicus Brief: State of California et al. v. Alex M. Azar et al.

Other Barriers, Contraception,United States,In the Courts

Sign up for our newsletter.

The most up-to-date news on reproductive rights, delivered straight to you.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Footer Menu

  • Careers
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us

Center for Reproductive Rights
© (1992-2021)

Use of this site signifies agreement with our disclaimer and privacy policy.

Center for Reproductive Rights
This site uses necessary, analytics and social media cookies to improve your experience and deliver targeted advertising. Click "Options" or click here to learn more and customize your cookie settings, otherwise please click "Accept" to proceed.
OPTIONSACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gat_UA-6619340-11 minuteNo description
_gid1 dayThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the wbsite is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages viisted in an anonymous form.
_parsely_session30 minutesThis cookie is used to track the behavior of a user within the current session.
HotJar: _hjAbsoluteSessionInProgress30 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjFirstSeen30 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjid1 yearThis cookie is set by Hotjar. This cookie is set when the customer first lands on a page with the Hotjar script. It is used to persist the random user ID, unique to that site on the browser. This ensures that behavior in subsequent visits to the same site will be attributed to the same user ID.
HotJar: _hjIncludedInPageviewSample2 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjIncludedInSessionSample2 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjTLDTestsessionNo description
SSCVER1 year 24 daysThe domain of this cookie is owned by Nielsen. The cookie is used for online advertising by creating user profile based on their preferences.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
CookieDurationDescription
_fbp3 monthsThis cookie is set by Facebook to deliver advertisement when they are on Facebook or a digital platform powered by Facebook advertising after visiting this website.
fr3 monthsThe cookie is set by Facebook to show relevant advertisments to the users and measure and improve the advertisements. The cookie also tracks the behavior of the user across the web on sites that have Facebook pixel or Facebook social plugin.
IDE1 year 24 daysUsed by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile.
IMRID1 year 24 daysThe domain of this cookie is owned by Nielsen. The cookie is used for storing the start and end of the user session for nielsen statistics. It helps in consumer profiling for online advertising.
personalization_id2 yearsThis cookie is set by twitter.com. It is used integrate the sharing features of this social media. It also stores information about how the user uses the website for tracking and targeting.
TDID1 yearThe cookie is set by CloudFare service to store a unique ID to identify a returning users device which then is used for targeted advertising.
test_cookie15 minutesThis cookie is set by doubleclick.net. The purpose of the cookie is to determine if the user's browser supports cookies.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
CookieDurationDescription
adEdition1 dayNo description
akaas_MSNBC10 daysNo description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional1 yearThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others1 yearNo description
geoEdition1 dayNo description
next-i18next1 yearNo description
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo
Scroll Up