Appeals Court Rules Against Texas Ban on Dismemberment Abortion

photo credit: Bill Oxford / Unsplash

On Tuesday, a three-judge panel from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to strike down a Texas law banning dismemberment abortions. The abortion method involves tearing an unborn child's limbs and head from its body piece by piece so it can be removed from a woman's body without inducing labor. This is done because the child's body has grown too large to be removed by other abortion methods.

Judge James Dennis wrote in his opinion that the law “forces abortion providers to act contrary to their medical judgment and the best interest of their patient.” He opines that the law would  require abortionists to use “dangerous” procedures that offer “no benefit to the woman. He wrote that its “burdens substantially outweigh its benefits.”

In response to the decision, Texas Right to life wrote, "After a three-year wait, the decision by the three-judge panel is disappointing and demonstrates the need for judges who follow the strictest interpretation of the Constitution. However, Texas must continue the legal battle to force a federal circuit court split, pressuring the Supreme Court of the United States to evaluate the merits of the law."

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