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Texas to adopt Indiana-like fetal remains regulations

Federal judge blocked Indiana law in June
Posted at 8:41 PM, Jul 07, 2016
and last updated 2016-07-07 22:03:16-04

Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas says he will follow in Indiana's footsteps by mandating aborted fetuses be buried or cremated – a law the Hoosier state has already lost its first attempt to defend in federal court.

According to the Associated Press, Abbott will instruct the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to enact the regulations in September.

The announcement came just days after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Texas' strict rules about abortion clinics were unconstitutional.

It also follows quickly after a ruling in Indiana by U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Walton-Pratt that a law mandating similar burial requirements for fetal remains passed by Hoosier Republicans likely would not hold up to constitutional scrutiny.

MORE | Federal judge blocks Indiana's new abortion law | Pence 'disappointed' with judge's block of abortion law

Pratt wrote in her ruling that the law appeared to run "contrary" to well-established Supreme Court decisions regarding abortion.

Indiana's law also restricted women from receiving an abortion on the basis of the sex, race or disability of the fetus.

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller has not yet said whether his office will appeal the ruling, though Gov. Mike Pence issued a statement calling Pratt's decision "disappointing."