The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals will allow medication abortions, which involve a patient ingesting pills, to proceed in Texas during the coronavirus outbreak, the latest development in a weeks-long legal dispute over state officials’ attempt to ban the procedure in nearly all circumstances as it combats the pandemic.

A previous ruling from the politically conservative appeals court lets patients near the legal gestational limit receive abortions as well.

Hundreds of abortions in Texas have been canceled since state officials barred the procedure, except when the woman’s health is at risk, as the novel coronavirus spreads. The prohibition is meant to preserve personal protective equipment, like masks and gloves, that are in short supply nationwide, and to free up bed space as hospitals prepare for a possible surge in COVID-19 patients.

But abortion providers have accused state officials of exploiting “a public heath crisis to advance an extreme, anti-abortion agenda,” and argued the procedure does not usually require hospitalization nor extensive protective gear.

This is a developing story and will continue to be updated.

Source: Texas Tribune Blue Government News