Attorney General Ken Paxton today announced that his office will continue fighting to honor the dignity of the unborn after a U.S. District Court issued an injunction blocking Texas from implementing a new law on the humane disposition of fetal remains.
“Today’s ruling is disappointing, but I remain confident the courts will ultimately uphold the Texas law, which honors the dignity of the unborn and prevents fetal remains from being treated as medical waste,” Attorney General Paxton said. “We established during a weeklong trial in July that the law is constitutional and does not impact the abortion procedure or the availability of abortion in Texas. My office will continue to fight to uphold the law, which requires the dignified treatment of fetal remains, rather than allow health care facilities to dispose of the remains in sewers or landfills.”
The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized that states have an interest in the lives of the unborn. Last session, the Texas Legislature enacted a law (Senate Bill 8) that, among other things, prohibits health care providers from disposing fetal remains in sewers or landfills and instead to treat their remains in more dignified fashion such as burial, cremation, or the spreading of ashes. Previous law permitted fetal remains to be discharged into a sewer system or sent to a landfill.