Texas abortion clinic resumes service. ‘Every single abortion we can provide is a win’
Some abortion clinics in Texas resumed their services Thursday, a day after a federal judge placed a temporary injunction on the state’s new law banning most abortions.
U.S. District Judge Robert Pittman, of Austin, wrote Wednesday that “women have been unlawfully prevented from exercising control over their lives.” The legislation, referred to as the Heartbeat Act, bans abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected — often around six weeks into pregnancy.
It also includes an award of at least $10,000 for anyone who successfully sues a person who performs or “aids or abets the performance or inducement of an abortion.”
Pittman questioned if the ban was constitutional.
“This Court will not sanction one more day of this offensive deprivation of such an important right,” Pittman wrote in the 113-page order.
The State of Texas filed an appeal against the order Wednesday night, the Texas Tribune reported.
But at least one group of clinics in Texas — Whole Woman’s Health — has already resumed abortion services.
The abortion clinic said Wednesday it was “thrilled” there was a path to provide abortions and began reaching out to people on its waiting list Thursday.
“In this climate, every single abortion we can provide is a win,” the abortion provider said.
“We are providing abortions in accordance with Judge Pittman’s ruling out of compassion for our patients,” it continued. “#SB8 left our patients with two choices: carry a pregnancy to term against their will or travel out of state to receive care. This ban hurt Texans and now we can help them.”
Whole Woman’s Health has locations in Austin, Fort Worth, McKinney and McAllen.
On its website, the clinic has a banner that reads, “Our clinics are open and abortion is still legal.”
Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood South Texas announced it is now offering free morning after pills until Nov. 30. It has not resumed abortion services, but a representative told KENS it was directing “callers to several different resources.”
Pittman’s order is the first major snag against the law, which went into effect earlier this year. The law, signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, does not provide exemptions for cases of rape or incest.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Sept. 1 allowed the Texas law to stand, which in turn forced Texans to travel across state lines to seek abortion services, The Associated Press reported.
Amy Hagstrom Miller, the CEO for Whole Woman’s Health, acknowledged Thursday the abortion provider may face legal repercussions for its actions while the law is in the appeal process.
“But we also have this retroactive situation with SB 8, that many providers are afraid of, many of our physicians and staff are afraid of, that would, if the injunction is knocked down in the future, would allow for the vigilantes to come back and sue us for every abortion we did in the interim,” she told KXAN.
This story was originally published October 8, 2021 at 9:34 AM with the headline "Texas abortion clinic resumes service. ‘Every single abortion we can provide is a win’."