Judge temporarily blocks fetal burial rules

AUSTIN -- A federal judge on Thursday blocked Texas from implementing a controversial new rule requiring the burial or cremation of fetal remains following abortions or miscarriages.

In an at-times testy court hearing Thursday afternoon, U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks opted to grant a temporary restraining order against the new rules that were slated to kick in Monday, Dec. 19.

The new rules require that the remains from abortions and miscarriages be buried or cremated, regardless the length of gestation or the woman's wishes. Currently, the remains are treated as other medical waste and incinerated, buried or disposed of in a sanitary landfill or ground up and washed down a sanitary sewer.

The Center for Reproductive Rights, on behalf of several abortion providers, sued the state to block the rule, arguing that requiring health centers provide for the burial or cremation of fetal remains was intended to decrease access to abortion by driving up the cost.
The Texas Department of State Health Services has said the rule was intended as a public health measure to help prevent the spread of disease.