“Can you come here today?” executive administrator Andrea Gallegos asked each woman. “Come as soon as you can,” she said, aware that the state could appeal at any time.
The clinic performed 10 abortions on Tuesday, Gallegos said, and has scheduled more patients for Wednesday. Clinics that had sued the state, including Alamo, halted abortion procedures Friday but rushed to enjoy a fleeting reprieve Tuesday after Harris County Judge Christine Weems (D) ruled that a pre-deer The ban imposed by Attorney General Ken Paxton (right) and prosecutors would ‘inevitably and irreparably chill the provision of abortions in the last vital weeks that safer abortion care remains available and legal in Texas’ .
Abortion seekers and providers aren’t optimistic about another chance in Texas. A “trigger ban” is set to come into effect 30 days after the Supreme Court’s ruling last week. paxton also swore appeal Tuesday’s decision. Harris County District Attorney Christian D. Menefee (D) said the restraining order will last until the next hearing, scheduled for July 12, unless it is extended. But that is “irrelevant” once the trigger ban takes effect, he said.
Prior to last week’s Supreme Court ruling, Texas had already limited abortions to the first six weeks of pregnancy, when many women do not yet realize they are pregnant.
Texas is one of 13 states with trigger bans, designed to take effect if deer were overturned, but Paxton had issued an opinion that prosecutors could pursue criminal cases under a 1925 law not enforced before trigger ban began.
Victoria, a 25-year-old single mother who was turned away from Houston Women’s Reproductive Services on Friday, had been preparing to travel to Chicago for her abortion when she received a call from the clinic Tuesday afternoon.
“Come at 2:30,” the woman said over the phone. “We will do that today.”
Victoria, who spoke to The Washington Post on the condition that only her first name be used to protect her privacy, almost immediately got into her car. She feared the laws would change again before she arrived.
“I don’t know how long this will last,” she said. “But I’m so relieved to have entered.”
The abortion law enforcement mechanism in Texas allows people to sue anyone who helps facilitate an abortion.
Whole Woman’s Health and its nonprofit Whole Woman’s Health Alliance said they will reopen four clinics in Texas once they have staff.
“We immediately began calling patients on our waitlists and bringing our staff and providers back to clinics to resume abortion care as soon as possible,” President and CEO Amy Hagstrom Miller said in a statement. “Keep in mind that Texas still enforces a two-visit requirement and 24-hour waiting period, along with the 6-week ban and other restrictions. Despite these obstacles, our clinic staff are ready and eager to welcome patients back.
His organizations were plaintiffs in the application for a temporary injunction against the state.
The Southwest Women’s Surgery Center, which has also sued state officials, will resume offering abortions and is “in close contact with our legal team to ensure we change course as this continues.” to take place in court,” spokeswoman Robin Sikes said.