The Texas Attorney General’s office on Monday ordered all clinics that provide abortion to immediately stop providing the procedure in order to comply with the state’s temporary suspension of surgeries that are not deemed “medically necessary,” according to a statement from the office shared with CBS News. Texas is the latest state to halt abortion services amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

According to the Attorney General’s office, “any type of abortion that is not medically necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother” must be suspended. Those in violation will face “penalties of up to $1,000 or 180 days of jail time.”

On Sunday evening, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued an executive order “to expand hospital bed capacity as the state responds to the COVID-19 virus.” On Monday afternoon, the state’s Attorney General, Ken Paxton, clarified that abortion services would need to …continued .
[Source: CBS News]