In an effort to preserve medical supplies to battle the novel coronavirus, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued an order on Monday temporarily banning all abortions in the state unless the mother’s life is in danger.
As of Tuesday, the number of deaths in the Lone Star State related to COVID-19 reached nine, according to the Texas Department of Health and Human Services.
Paxton’s announcement came the day after Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered all elective medical procedures to be postponed.
The order will remain in effect until April 21.
“No one is exempt from the governor’s executive order on medically unnecessary surgeries and procedures, including abortion providers,” the statement from Paxton’s office reads, according to Breitbart.
“Those who violate the governor’s order will be met with the full force of the law,” the statement continues, including a $1,000 fine or up to 180 days in jail.
As we reported earlier this week, Ohio preceded Texas in ordering “unnecessary abortions” to cease as the state braced for a hit to its healthcare system.
The Texas Tribune reports:
Late last week, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost sent letters to abortion clinics demanding they cease operations and instead send medical supplies to health care workers fighting the coronavirus.
Ohio abortion clinics pushed back. Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region said in a statement that it would follow the state’s order on personal protective equipment but continue some procedures.
Planned Parenthood responded to the Ohio order with a defiant statement, declaring abortion to be an “essential” service:
Planned Parenthood’s top priority is ensuring that every person can continue accessing essential health care, including abortion. Under that order, Planned Parenthood can still continue providing essential procedures, including surgical abortion, and our health centers continue to provide services that our patients depend on.
https://twitter.com/PPSWO/status/1241442571710324738?s=20
Texas Freedom Network, a pro-abortion organization in the state, released a statement condemning the order and re-defining abortion as “essential care.”
“There are many reasons women decide to have an abortion in the already limited time window state law allows, and a delay means denying them the constitutional right to make those decisions in a safe, timely manner with the help of their doctors,” TFN President Kathy Miller said, according to the Tribune.
Pro-life advocates, however, praise Paxton’s order as saving even more lives than just the pre-born.
John Seago, legislative director for Texas Right to Life, told the Tribune that the state needs to focus on shoring up hospitals at this time.
“Continuing elective procedures is a public health threat,” Seago said. Otherwise, he stated, abortion clinics would “violate the solidarity of the medical community right now.”
While this order is temporary and by no means the abolition of abortion we continue to fight and pray for, we praise God for any precious baby whose life will be spared under this order!
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