The Texas Supreme Court today unanimously rejected the challenge to Texas’ new pro-life laws, ruling that the medical exceptions in the law were broad enough to withstand constitutional challenge.
The case, Zurawski v. Texas, began with five women arguing the state’s near-total abortion laws stopped them from getting medical care for their complicated pregnancies.
Back in August, a Travis County judge issued a temporary injunction that allowed Texans with complicated pregnancies to get an abortion if their doctor made a “good faith judgment” that it was necessary. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton appealed.
The Texas Supreme Court overturned that, saying it “departed from the law as written without constitutional justification.” While the opinion was unanimous, Justice Brett Busby issued a concurring opinion that left the door open to a broader challenge to the law.
After the overturn of Roe v. Wade in the summer 2022, Texas banned all abortions except to save the life of the pregnant patient.
After the ruling, Paxton said in a statement, “Today, the Supreme Court of Texas unanimously upheld the Human Life Protection Act, one of our state’s pro-life laws,” said Attorney General Paxton. “I will continue to defend the laws enacted by the Legislature and uphold the values of the people of Texas by doing everything in my power to protect mothers and babies.”