CHRIS TOMLINSON, Associated Press
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A federal judge is scheduled to hear final arguments over whether to stop Texas from enforcing new abortions restrictions.
Judge Lee Yeakel said he wanted to hear from the attorney general’s office and lawyers representing abortion providers who say the law is unconstitutional.
Yeakel heard two days of testimony, mostly from abortion rights groups who say the requirements passed over the summer are unnecessary and intended solely to block a woman’s right to an abortion. They say if enforced, the law will leave only five abortion clinics for 26 million people.
Texas Solicitor General Jonathan Mitchell says the law is within the Legislature’s rights to protect the health of women and “fetal life.”
Unless Yeakel blocks the law, it is set to take effect on Oct. 29.