Statement on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals Granting of a Writ of Mandamus to uphold Governor Greg Abbott’s Executive Order GA 09

Written by Amy O’Donnell, Director of Communications

Yesterday afternoon, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals granted a writ of mandamus directing the federal district court in Austin to vacate its Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) issued by federal Judge Lee Yeakel on March 30, 2020, and to allow the application of Governor Abbott’s executive order delaying elective medical surgeries and procedures, including elective abortions, until April 21 to stand as stated.

The following statement is attributed to Texas Alliance for Life’s Executive Director Joe Pojman, Ph.D.:

We are very pleased with the decision of the 5th Circuit to allow Governor Abbott’s order to stand as applicable to abortion facilities just as it stands for other medical facilities. Clearly the crisis in Texas and across the nation calls for measures to conserve the personal protective equipment needed by doctors and nurses fighting coronavirus on the front lines. We believe that merely delaying abortion procedures a few weeks is reasonable and necessary.

We applaud Attorney General Ken Paxton for his prompt actions in defense of the Governor’s executive order.

Providing physicians and nurses with the personal protective equipment they need to treat patients with COVID-19 so that they are not unnecessarily risking becoming infected themselves should be everyone’s first and highest priority at this time.

How many doctors and nurses have to become infected and possibly die before Planned Parenthood, Whole Woman’s Health, and other abortion facilities in Texas realize that they need to comply with the executive order, just like everyone else?

We will continue to monitor, with the help of local pro-life organizations and individuals, the compliance of abortion facilities across the state and report violations to the Texas Medical Board, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, and local law enforcement authorities.