Appeals Court Says Texas Can Still Ban Emergency Abortions

The abortion battle continues in the state of Texas, with Texas winning the latest round.

Texas is among the red states where abortions are now illegal, save very few exceptions, where “substantial impairment of major bodily function” is involved.

After federal guidelines tried to circumvent the law in Texas, a federal appeals court has ruled that the Texas law stands.

Texas Law Stands Firm

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was stacked with conservative judges, one being a Bush appointee and the other two being Trump appointees.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services made the argument that federal statute took priority of the new Texas laws, but the court disagreed.

Trump-appointed Judge Kurt Engelhardt wrote, "The Texas plaintiff's argument that medical treatment is historically subject to police power of the States, not to be superseded unless that was the clear and manifest purpose of Congress, is convincing.”

Texas has been at the forefront of the abortion debate ever since Kate Cox was denied a request by the Texas Supreme Court to have an abortion in Texas.

Cox left Texas to get the abortion, citing that her unborn child had a fatal diagnosis.

Paxton sued the federal government, challenging the guidelines by the Department of Health and Human Services on this front.

This could be the Achilles heel of the GOP heading into the 2024 cycle.

We saw the damage that was done by Democrats during that cycle as they brought abortion to the forefront of the election, and we would expect them to do the same thing again this cycle in an effort to give Biden a boost.

Ironically, if Trump is the candidate, that could backfire, as Trump has arguably the most moderate approach to abortion than any of the other candidates, surely more moderate than that of Ron DeSantis.