SCOTUS Vacates Ruling in Planned Parenthood’s Texas Covid Row

The U.S. Supreme Court Monday granted Planned Parenthood’s request to vacate two Fifth Circuit decisions that allowed a Texas executive order banning abortions during the Covid-19 pandemic to go into effect.

Planned Parenthood Center for Choice argued the writs of mandamus issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to overturn lower court decisions blocking the orders were moot. Gov. Greg Abbott (R) replaced the challenged executive order with a new one that allowed abortions to resume in Texas just two days after the appeals court’s second decision, Planned Parenthood said.

The governor’s action made it impossible ...