Office of the Attorney General Files Appeal to Texas Supreme Court, Blocking District Judge’s Ruling and Leaving Abortion Law in Place
Austin, Texas (KBTX) – In response to a Texas judge ruling Friday that said the state’s abortion ban must allow exceptions without doctors fearing the threat of criminal charges, the Office of the Attorney General filed what is called a Notice of Accelerated Interlocutory Appeal directly to the Texas Supreme Court.
According to the OAG, while a district judge’s ruling attempted to block the state’s enforcement of Texas pro-life laws, this filing halts the ruling pending a decision by the Texas Supreme Court. In a press released from Texas Attorney General’s Office, “Texas pro-life laws are in full effect. This judge’s ruling is not.” Read the filing here.
State District Judge Jessica Mangrum’s ruling Friday reportedly granted a temporary injunction that would have prevented Texas from enforcing the ban against physicians who in their “good faith judgment” end a pregnancy that, because of complications, creates a risk of infection or is otherwise unsafe for the woman to continue.
Mangrum’s decision said the injunction would run until the completion of the case, which is scheduled for a trial to begin next March 25.
However, the OAG says it will continue to enforce the laws duly enacted by the Texas Legislature.
The press release did go on to say, “protecting the health of mothers and babies is of paramount importance to the people of Texas, a moral principle enshrined in the law which states that an abortion may be performed under limited circumstances, such as in the event of “a life-threatening physical condition aggravated by, caused by, or arising from a pregnancy” that places the pregnant woman “at risk of death or poses a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function unless the abortion is performed or induced.”
