Monday, April 27, 2020

11th Circuit tackles abortion case during COVID crisis

I missed this one last week.  Judge Jordan, joined by Martin and Rosenbaum upheld a preliminary injunction against an Alabama law that was being interpreted as prohibiting abortions during corona.

Bloomberg law summarizes the opinion here:
Alabama will remain partially blocked from imposing new restrictions on abortions in name of public health during the coronavirus pandemic, the Eleventh Circuit said.
Alabama State Health Officer Scott Harris mandated the postponement of “all dental, medical, or surgical procedures” except those “necessary to treat an emergency medical condition” or “to avoid serious harm from an underlying condition or disease, or necessary as a part of a patient’s ongoing and active treatment.”
The order is currently in effect until April 30, but may be extended. A violation would be a misdemeanor.
Planned Parenthood, the Alabama Women’s Center, and other abortion providers sued, and a federal court issued a preliminary injunction. It doesn’t entirely block the state from enforcing the order against abortion providers. But it does bar the state from “failing to allow healthcare providers to consider and base their decisions as to whether to provide an abortion without delay on certain factors,” including whether a delay would cause the patient to lose her legal right to an abortion under Alabama law after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
The injunction will remain in place, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit said.
“The state argues that the order is a valid exercise of its power to issue public health orders during an emergency,” the court said. “But just as constitutional rights have limits, so too does a state’s power to issue executive orders limiting such rights in times of emergency.”

6 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:17 PM

    Opinion vacated, panel hearing en banc coming.

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  2. Anonymous11:33 AM

    Agree with 10:17 -- hard to imagine pulling a better panel here.

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  3. Anonymous11:56 AM

    Read the opinion. This stands.

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  4. Anonymous3:14 PM

    Agree with 11:56 that this will stand, but only because the applicable law expires in two days. I don't think the same result would have followed if Pryor, Carnes, and one of the new Trumpites were on the panel.

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  5. Anonymous4:03 PM

    Maybe, Carnes did recently write an opinion overturning abortion restrictions, reluctantly of course.
    But given the posture of this appeal I think very little chance of it going en banc.

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  6. Anonymous10:12 PM

    No actual public threat, just punitive action from Judge.

    https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article242357331.html

    Can’t win them all.

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