Federal judges have ordered Texas and Ohio to allow abortions to continue during the coronavirus pandemic after lawsuits from Planned Parenthood.
U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel on Monday blocked Texas from enforcing a recent order, which labeled abortions as nonessential medical procedures that must be suspended in the state amid the outbreak.
“Regarding a woman’s right to a pre-fetal-viability abortion, the Supreme Court has spoken clearly. There can be no outright ban on such a procedure,” the judge wrote.
In Ohio, Senior U.S. District Judge Michael Barrett temporarily blocked the state on Monday from using its public health order to halt abortions.
“The law is well-settled that women possess a fundamental constitutional right of access to abortions,” the judge wrote.
Planned Parenthood filed similar lawsuits against other states over coronavirus abortion restrictions, including Iowa and Alabama.
