By Dave Andrusko
Bloomberg Law reported today that the state of Alabama has responded to the temporary restraining ordered issued by Judge Myron H. Thompson that blocked enforcement of the state’s decision to close many nonessential businesses, including the performance of elective abortions.
As we reported Wednesday, Judge Thompson, a reliable ally for the abortion industry, wrote that the state’s concerns about conserving medical equipment during the pandemic, do not “outweigh the serious, and, in some cases, permanent, harms imposed by the denial of an individual’s right to privacy.” Here are Mary Anne Pazanowski’s lead paragraphs:
Alabama wants a federal appeals court to review an order temporarily stopping it from enforcing an emergency order that’s been interpreted as banning abortions during the new coronavirus pandemic.
The state filed a notice of appeal in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama Thursday, telling the court it will ask the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to decide if the trial court properly granted the abortion providers’ motion for a temporary restraining order.
The March 30 TRO allows providers to continue operating despite Alabama’s argument that they will divert medical supplies needed to fight Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus.
A motion to stay the TRO pending appeal accompanied the notice.
Alabama is one of a number of states that have prioritized “essential medical procedures” (which elective abortions are not) to fight the spread of the deadly COVID-19 virus. In most instances, pro-abortionists have taken them to court.
The case is Robinson v. Marshall, M.D. Ala., No. 19-cv-365.