AP NEWS
A Texas judge ruled Friday the state’s abortion ban has proven too restrictive for women with serious pregnancy complications and must allow exceptions without doctors fearing the threat of criminal charges.
The ruling was the first to undercut Texas’ law since it took effect in 2022 and delivers a major victory to abortion rights supporters, who see the case as a potential blueprint to weaken restrictions elsewhere that Republican-led states have rushed to implement.
However, the injunction was immediately blocked by an appeal to the Texas Supreme Court, the state attorney general’s office said.
”The trial court’s injunction is ineffective, and the status quo remains in effect,” spokesperson Paige Willey said in an email.
State District Judge Jessica Mangrum’s ruling granted a temporary injunction that prevents 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.
The injunction also applies to women who have a condition “exacerbated by pregnancy” who can’t be effectively treated during their term. It also covers cases where the fetus has a condition that makes it unlikely to survive after birth.
“For the first time in a long time, I cried for joy when I heard the news,” lead plaintiff Amanda Zurawski said in a statement. “This is exactly why we did this. This is why we put ourselves through the pain and the trauma over and over again to share our experiences and the harms caused by these awful laws.”
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.
