Headline RoundupJuly 2nd, 2022

Texas and Ohio Supreme Courts Block Orders to Reinstate Abortion Access

Summary from the AllSides News Team

Top courts in Texas and Ohio on Friday evening temporarily blocked orders to reinstate abortion access after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade last week.

The recent court ruling has given states the power to enforce "trigger laws" that reactivate old abortion bans that were due to take effect. One of these laws is the Texas Heartbeat Act, which bans abortion around the six-week mark of a pregnancy when a fetal heartbeat is detected. Earlier this week, a Houston judge ruled that doctors would still be allowed to resume abortions up to six weeks into pregnancy — but the Texas Supreme Court overruled the decision. Texas attorney general Ken Paxton suggested that abortion providers could be subject to fines and lawsuits even before the state’s trigger law goes into effect. A final decision will be evaluated in a hearing scheduled for later this month. 

Legal battles over abortion battles have also occurred in Ohio and other Republican-led states that have tried to pass laws similar to Texas' Heartbeat Act. Abortion rights groups in several states have been able to temporarily block trigger laws that ban abortion procedures, while challenges are still pending in Idaho, Mississippi and Oklahoma.

Outlets across the spectrum highlighted the confusion surrounding the legal battles over abortion procedures taking place across the country. Left-rated outlets were more likely to highlight sentiments that "extremist politicians are on a crusade to force Texans" into childbirth "against their will." Right-rated coverage focused more on Republican lawmakers who said they will soon focus on other measures such as improving adoption programs and forbidding women from traveling to another state to receive an abortion.

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