U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel late Wednesday invalidated the signature abortion restriction bill to come out of the 2017 legislative session; a measure to ban what is called 'dilation and evacuation,' News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
The ruling was anticipated, similar bans enacted in four other states have all been thrown out on similar grounds, that they unreasonably limit a woman's ability to obtain a legal medical procedure.
The restriction never had the opportunity to take effect, as Yeakel issued a TRO before the bill's effective date of September 1.
Pro Life groups say they will appeal the decision, saying what they call 'dismemberment abortion' is the very definition of 'cruel and inhuman.'
"It is heartbreaking that children in Texas can still be torn apart limb from limb," said Nicole Hudgens of the group "Texas Values.". She called the practice 'barbaric.'
The increasingly conservative Fifth Court of Appeals has more and more leaned toward approving state limits on abortion..
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