Texas Border Business
AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton filed an en banc petition in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit urging the entire court to put a hold on a district court’s ruling that allows live-dismemberment abortions. Texas law prohibits this type of second-trimester abortion, which rips the unborn child apart, limb by limb, while they are still alive.
“Protecting the sanctity of life continues to be one of my top priorities,” Attorney General Paxton said. “I remain optimistic that the Fifth Circuit will uphold Texas’ lawful authority to protect unborn children from this abhorrent procedure.”
The Texas law was put on a week-long trial in November 2017 after it was challenged by a group of abortion providers. Although the U.S. Supreme Court previously held that states may pass laws to protect and foster respect for unborn life by banning inhumane abortion procedures, the U.S. District Court in Austin enjoined Texas from enforcing its law. Attorney General Paxton immediately appealed to the Fifth Circuit, where the case has remained pending for almost three years.
Read a copy of the petition here.
