Supreme Court voids lower court ruling that allowed temporary abortion ban in Texas
The United States Supreme Court has reversed a lower court decision that upheld a temporary ban on nearly all abortions in Texas, asking the appellate court to dismiss the case as moot.
The Supreme Court granted the petition of Planned Parenthood and other abortion clinics to reverse a ruling from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld an executive order from Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, banning most abortions in an effort to free up hospital space for coronavirus patients. The Fifth Circuit's ruling itself reversed a judge's ruling at the district court level. Abbott's executive order came in March 2020, a time when most U.S. states had implemented shutdowns of varying intensity in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
According to the petition, Abbott's executive order, referred to as GA-09, "effectively banned" medication abortions and surgical abortions despite the fact...