AUSTIN, Texas (Legal Newsline) - A Texas lawsuit brought by groups protecting out-of-state abortions will continue against local district attorneys but not state Attorney General Ken Paxton.
A Feb. 24 decision by Austin federal judge Robert Pitman dismisses Paxton from the case, finding Texas' new abortion ban could not possibly be read to apply to procedures in other states.
However, pre-Roe v. Wade laws could possibly apply to out-of-state abortions but they have "been repealed by implication," so Pitman has granted part of a preliminary injunction request.
"Plaintiffs have shown, at this early stage of litigation, that they face a substantial threat of enforcement from the local prosecutors," Pitman wrote. "Plaintiffs cite several news articles stating many local prosecutors do intend to enforce the pre-Roe statutes.
"The extent to which local prosecutors intend to prosecute abortion funds for facilitating out-of-state abortions will become clear as this litigation progresses, especially when the Court potentially hears from members of the proposed sub-class of prosecutors who intend to enforce the pre-Roe laws."
Plaintiffs like Fund Texas Choice sued last year, claiming Paxton and district attorneys are attempting to destroy a "pregnant person's right to self-determination and reproductive healthcare."
Tweets, cease-and-desist letters and other forms of communication have threatened corporations around the state who promise to help their staff find abortion-related health care outside of Texas.
The suit cites a letter to the Sidley Austin law firm that said its decision to reimburse travel costs "of employees who leave Texas to murder their unborn children" appears to make the firm "complicit in illegal abortions."
Abortion is a felony in Texas unless the mother's life is in danger, the letter read, threatening that the firm is exposing itself to prosecution and disbarment. The law was passed after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe last year.
Two law professors, experts in reproductive rights law, made apparently convincing arguments when they submitted their thoughts to the court. They said the pre-Roe laws outlawing abortion were effectively repealed almost 50 years ago and new Texas legislation does not apply to out-of-state procedures.
Texas at Austin School of Law professor Elizabeth Sepper and SMU Dedman School of Law professor Seema Mohapatra say an agreement can be reached between the two sides without a determination on the constitutionality of the new Texas law.