Proposed (anti) abortion laws temporarily blocked in Texas

Summary of story from Reuters, August 30, 2011

Key provisions of a new Texas law which would force women seeking an abortion to view a sonogram and listen to the heartbeat of the fetus has been temporarily blocked by a US federal judge.

The judge, Austin-based Sam Sparks, ruled that such a law “compels physicians to advance an ideological agenda with which they may not agree, regardless of any medical necessity, and irrespective of whether the pregnant women wish to listen.”

The judge has also blocked provisions calling for doctors to have their licenses cancelled, or face criminal penalties for failure to comply.

Judge Sparks’ decision also blocked the requirement for a woman who had become pregnant through rape or incest to state this in writing in order to avoid hearing the doctor’s explanation of the sonogram images.

The new law (see WVoN coverage) was due to come into effect on Thursday.

It is a major part of the agenda of Republican Governor Rick Perry, a potential Presidential candidate. He claimed it was to make sure women had all the information necessary when making the decision to have an abortion.

Julie Rikelman, an attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights, the organisation which filed the lawsuit, said that “what this law assumes is outdated stereotypes that women are too immature or incompetent to make important decisions.”

It is expected that the case will be appealed in the US Supreme Court.

WVoN comment: At a time when, sadly, crucial abortion rights are being threatened on both sides of the Atlantic (see WVoN story) , this is a small but welcome victory for supporters of the reproductive rights of women.