Judge stalls Texas abortion protections

A federal judge on Thursday ordered a two-week delay of a Texas law limiting abortion. The pro-life legislation would have gone into effect on Friday, but U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel issued a last-minute restraining order to review the law’s constitutional merits. Yeakel scheduled a Sept. 14 hearing to weigh arguments for continuing the injunction. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed the legislation in May. The Dismemberment Abortion Ban outlaws a specific procedure known as “dilation and evacuation,” in which children are torn apart in the womb and removed piece by piece, for women seeking second-trimester abortions. The law passed overwhelmingly in the Republican-controlled Texas legislature. It served as an answer to an unfavorable Supreme Court ruling in 2016 that stopped Texas from requiring abortion centers to meet hospital-like operating standards. Texas plans to appeal the court ruling. “Dismemberment abortions are gruesome and inhumane, which makes it troubling that a district court would block Texas’ lawful authority to protect the life of unborn children from such a barbaric practice,” Marc Rylander, a spokesman for the Texas attorney general, said in a statement.