Some Texas centers resume abortions

At least six centers in Texas resumed abortions on Thursday, hours after a federal judge halted the state’s newest pro-life law. The heartbeat legislation that took effect on Sept. 1 protected babies from abortion once they have a detectable heartbeat, usually at about six weeks of gestation. The law allows people to sue abortionists and others involved in the procedures, leaving many of the two dozen abortion centers in the state wary of resuming their services.

What happens next? Some 17 abortionists at Whole Woman’s Health, which operates four facilities in Texas, declined to perform the procedures out of fear the courts could still hold them liable, president Amy Hagstrom Miller said. Planned Parenthood, the state’s largest abortion provider, did not confirm whether it resumed abortions but noted the possibility of an appeals court reinstating the law soon brought uncertainty. Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office served notice of the state’s plan to appeal the court’s decision but had not yet done so by Thursday.

Dig deeper: Read Leah Savas’ report in Vitals about how pro-life pregnancy centers responded to mothers’ needs after the Texas heartbeat law went into effect.