In the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe vs. Wade, LPHS appellate partner David Coale discusses the issue of enforcing the new law on abortion, and how the level of enforcement may not rely only on the state legislature but could vary from counties and cities. David explains in his Dallas Morning News op-ed.

Starting in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic began, hard-fought litigation addressed the proper division of power between state and county governments for conducting elections. The continuation of the pandemic led to extensive litigation about the role of state, county and local government as to public health regulation. And finally, the litigation over Senate Bill 8, which established a complex procedure for civil lawsuits about the provision of abortion, examined when the state can claim to have removed itself from the enforcement of a legal ban.

Taken together, these lawsuits describe Texas government as far more complex and nuanced than anyone had really appreciated before the COVID-19 pandemic. Three aspects of that complexity suggest ways that “the people’s elected representatives” may react to Dobbs by protecting, rather than attacking, access to abortion.

David also talked about the matter to KXAS NBC 5 Dallas.

Click on the links above to view David’s viewpoint.