Fate of Texas abortion rule is left hanging

A Texas law banning a common second-trimester abortion procedure will remain blocked after federal judges Wednesday postponed a decision until the Supreme Court takes action on a similar case.

A federal district court in 2017 struck down the ban, which was passed as part of state Senate Bill 8. Attorney General Ken Paxton and other officials then appealed the decision to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Abortion providers argue the dilation and evacuation procedure is the most common method used to perform an abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The state and the law’s supporters say the practice is “brutal” and “inhumane.”

The case the appeals court is waiting on may or may not ever make it to the nation’s highest court.

Still, it has captivated the attention of pro-abortion-rights and anti-abortion advocates alike for its potential to be the first abortion-related case before the Supreme Court since Justice Brett Kavanaugh took the bench.

However, the Supreme Court has yet to decide whether it will take up that case, which was launched by abortion provider June Medical Services.

The case challenges a Louisiana law that required doctors who perform abortions to have hospital admitting privileges.

Justices struck down a similar law, House Bill 2, in Texas in 2016 in the Whole Woman's Health vs. Hellerstedt case, ruling that it placed an undue and unconstitutional burden on abortion access.

Following that decision, a district court found Louisiana’s law unconstitutional. However, on appeal, the Fifth Circuit reversed that decision by claiming the state’s situation called for a different means of review than the Texas Supreme Court case.