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AUSTIN, Texas, November 23, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) — A federal judge has struck down a Texas law banning live dismemberment abortions.
Federal District Judge Lee Yeakel ruled Wednesday the bill was unconstitutional, and would put an “undue burden” on women.
“The State’s valid interest in promoting respect for the life of the unborn, although legitimate, is not sufficient to justify such a substantial obstacle to the constitutionally protected right of a woman to terminate a pregnancy before fetal viability,” wrote Yeakel.
Senate Bill 8 prohibits killing a child in utero by dismemberment unless the child is deceased. Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 8 into law in June, and it was to go into effect September 1.
But Yeakel issued a temporary restraining order August 30 blocking implementation of the bill after the Center for Reproductive Rights and Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit on behalf of several abortion facilities challenging the statute.
Yeakel’s ruling quashing the law came just as his restraining order was set to expire Wednesday.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has already appealed to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, according to a Texas Alliance For Life (TAL) press release.
TAL Executive
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