Planned Parenthood gets shielded from Texas suits
DALLAS — A judge has temporarily shielded some Texas abortion clinics from being sued by the state’s largest anti-abortion group under a new law banning most abortions.
The temporary restraining order was issued by District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble in Austin in response to a Planned Parenthood request.
Although the law remains in effect, the judge’s order shields Planned Parenthood’s clinics, specifically, from whistleblower lawsuits by the nonprofit group Texas Right to Life, its legislative director and people working in concert with the group.
A hearing on a preliminary injunction request is scheduled for Sept. 13. The temporary restraining order only shields Planned Parenthood clinics from Texas Right to Life lawsuits and doesn’t prevent Texas Right to Life from suing non-Planned Parenthood abortion clinics in the state.
The law, which took effect Wednesday, prohibits abortions once medical professionals can detect cardiac activity, which is usually around the sixth week of pregnancy and before some women realize they’re pregnant. The law also leaves enforcement to private citizens through lawsuits instead of to prosecutors through criminal charges.
If Planned Parenthood is ultimately successful in the case, it could become a model for other abortion providers to bring similar “injunction-type cases” against those who would be likely to sue them over alleged violations of the law, said David Coale, a Dallas appellate attorney.
Planned Parenthood said in a statement that the law was “already decimating abortion access in the state, as providers are forced to turn people away” once medical professionals can detect cardiac activity. It said historically, 85% to 90% of women who have gotten abortions in Texas were at least six weeks into their pregnancies.
In its petition, Planned Parenthood said that even if it prevails in every case filed against the group alleging violations of the law, the lawsuits would still accomplish the law’s goal to “harass abortion providers and others critical to a patient’s support network.”
Texas Right to Life Vice President Elizabeth Graham said in a statement that her group expects Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit to be dismissed and that, “until then, we will continue our diligent efforts to ensure the abortion industry fully follows” the new law.