Attorney General Ken Paxton joined 17 other states in an amicus brief urging the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse a district court decision and uphold Tennessee’s prohibition of abortions based on an unborn baby’s sex, race, or likelihood of having Down Syndrome. The law also prohibits abortions once the baby’s heartbeat becomes detectable, a universal indicator of life.
“All life should be celebrated and all people, regardless of their genetics, should be afforded the right to life. Unfortunately, a growing side-effect of advancements in fetal screening technology is the allowance of eugenics-minded abortion,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Killing a child in the womb simply because they possess different physical or mental capabilities than their parents envisioned is a barbaric act of discrimination against the helpless. We must end the baseless and demeaning stereotype that a life with disabilities is not worth living. Laws protecting the unborn from such violent discrimination must stand.”
Texas also filed an amicus brief in January regarding a similar anti-eugenics law in Ohio that specifically protected those with Down Syndrome from harm prior to their birth.
Read a copy of the filing here.
