Texas Supreme Court hears case against state pro-life laws

The state’s nine supreme court justices on Tuesday considered whether to apply a temporary injunction ordered in August by a lower court judge. The injunction would expand exceptions to the state’s pro-life laws, as well as give doctors greater discretion to perform abortions if they determine that a woman’s health is threatened or an unborn baby has a potentially fatal condition. The injunction “could open the door far more widely than you're acknowledging,” Justice Jimmy Blacklock said during arguments Tuesday. Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office had appealed the lower court’s decision the same day it was released. Current laws in Texas protect babies at all stages of pregnancy unless an abortion is deemed medically necessary to save the mother’s life.

Who are the plaintiffs? The Center for Reproductive Rights in March filed the lawsuit with seven plaintiffs and argued the medical exceptions in the state’s laws were too narrow to protect women with complicated pregnancies. The plaintiffs now include two doctors and 20 women who claim their lives were put at risk when they experienced pregnancy complications and tried to get abortions.

Dig deeper: Read Leah Savas’ report in WORLD Magazine about the Texas lawsuit being filed.