Supreme Court Ruling Prevents Texas From Enforcing Sonogram Law

Last month I wrote about key parts of the so-called sonogram law passed by the Texas Legislature during the last session were struck down as unconstitutional by a US District Judge. Early this summer the Center for Reproductive Rights filed a class action lawsuit against the new ultrasound requirements behalf of Texas medical providers performing abortions and their patients. US District Judge Sam Sparks ruled that the law violates doctors' and patients' free speech rights and said the state cannot impose penalties against doctors who fail to meet its requirements.

Today the Texas Tribune reports:

The U.S. Supreme Court today refused to let Texas enforce its new abortion sonogram law while the measure is under appeal, following a similar ruling from a federal appeals court on Wednesday.

The abortion sonogram law, which forces women to have a sonogram and hear a description of the fetus before terminating a pregnancy, was deemed unconstitutional by an Austin district judge in August, who blocked several of its key provisions.

This leaves state leaders little legal recourse to pursue while the law makes its way through the appeals system. The measure's opponents say that's as it should be.

“The district court’s decision to block portions of this new law, which is intrusive and unconstitutional, was well-supported. There is no basis for the state’s attempts to short-circuit the legal process by trying to nullify the court’s decision on an emergency basis,” said Julie Rikelman, senior staff attorney with the Center for Reproductive Rights.