a judge of Texas ruled Friday that the state’s abortion ban has proven too restrictive for women who have serious complications during pregnancy and should allow exceptions without fearing criminal charges for doctors.
It’s the first ruling to downplay the Texas law since it went into effect in 2022 and marks an important victory for abortion rights advocates, who see the case as a potential role model for loosening limitations imposed in other states. with republican governments.
The ruling of the state district judge Jessica Mangrum included an injunction that prevents Texas from applying the rule to physicians who, in their “good faith judgment,” terminate a pregnancy that, due to complications, creates a risk of infection or is not safe for the mother.
But the judicial measure was immediately blocked by the appeal filed before the Texas Supreme Courtsaid the state prosecutor’s office. “The precautionary measure of the court of first instance is ineffective and the the state in which remains in effect,” spokeswoman Paige Willey said in an email.
The injunction also applied to women suffering from a condition “aggravated by pregnancy” that cannot be effectively treated during pregnancy and covered cases where the fetus suffered from conditions that made survival after birth unlikely.