Federal judge mulling fate of Texas fetal remains rules
AUSTIN, Texas — Abortion providers told a federal judge Tuesday that Texas’ attempt to require burial or cremation of fetal remains was “government interference” without public health benefits, while state lawyers countered that clinics want to be allowed to continue disposing of such remains in landfills.
The question of what becomes of tissue left over from abortions and miscarriages is the latest legal battle over abortion in Texas, which saw the U.S. Supreme Court last summer strike down much of its larger abortion restrictions that had been among the nation’s toughest.
At issue are state health department rules banning hospitals and abortion clinics from disposing of fetal tissue as biological medical waste, which usually means incineration, followed by disposal in sanitary landfills. Earlier legal challenges blocked similar measures in Louisiana and Indiana.
Texas’ rules seek to require fetal remains to be buried or to be cremated then buried or scattered. Many abortions occur less than 10 weeks into pregnancy, when the amount of tissue can be smaller than a dime.