Abortion in Texas halted again after appeals court allows ban to resume

The federal appeals court allowed the state to reinstate its ban on nearly all abortion services, including the procedure in Governor Greg Abbott's Executive Order suspending all "non-essential" medical procedures.Monday's decision reverses both the court's own previous ruling as well as a lower court's decision that allowed medication abortion, a pregnancy termination method conducted by pill, to resume despite the state's ban. A global pandemic is no time to restrict time-sensitive health care."Planned Parenthood, along with the Center for Reproductive Rights and the Lawyering Project, are challenging Texas' effective abortion ban on behalf of the state's providers.A spokesperson for the Texas Attorney General's office did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.Monday's filing is the latest in what's become a legal ping-pong match between Texas and abortion rights advocates over whether the state can suspend abortion services amid the coronavirus outbreak.