Late Monday night, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily blocked Texas from banning chemical abortions as an effort to conserve medical supplies for the COVID-19 battle. This ruling effectively allows chemical abortions to be committed in Texas until the appellate court has enough time to review the parties’ arguments and make a decision on the merits of the case. Surgical abortions, however, are still banned in Governor Abbott’s coronavirus executive order.
The Fifth Circuit cited “ambiguity in the record” leading to their decision not to grant a stay, indicating that the State’s argument that chemical abortions fall under the definition of an elective procedure did not meet the high standards necessary for the appellate court to make a quick decision to hold the lower court’s order.
According to data from 2017, 31.6% of preborn children who fall victim to abortion in Texas are killed through chemical abortions, totaling over 17,000 deaths per year.