OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
A federal judge appointed by former President Obama has stepped in to block enforcement of the new Texas abortion law.
The ruling came on Wednesday, halting the enforcement of the law that allows private citizens to sue anyone involved in an abortion that takes place after six weeks of pregnancy, The New York Times reported.
A federal judge on Wednesday granted the Justice Department’s request to halt enforcement of the recently passed Texas law that bans nearly all abortions in the state while the legal battle over the statute makes its way through the federal courts.
In his 113-page ruling, Robert L. Pitman, a Federal District Court judge in Austin, sided with the Biden administration, which had sued to halt a law that has changed the landscape of the abortion fight and further fueled the national debate over whether abortion will remain legal across the country.
Judge Pitman used sharp language to criticize the law, known as Senate Bill 8, which was drafted to make it difficult to challenge in court by delegating enforcement to private individuals, who can sue anyone who performs abortions or “aids and abets” them.
“From the moment S.B. 8 went into effect, women have been unlawfully prevented from exercising control over their own lives in ways that are protected by the Constitution,” he said in his decision.
“This court will not sanction one more day of this offensive deprivation of such an important right,” he said.
But the law is written in such a way that extends even if the law is blocked, as it has been, to allow punishment retroactively for any abortion performed during the injunction.
“S.B. 8 says if an injunction is dismissed, you are still accountable for abortions you did while you were protected by that injunction,” said John Seago, the legislative director for Texas Right to Life, said.
“I don’t think anything changes today, tomorrow or even next week or next month. Until the U.S. Supreme Court says stop, I think the clinics in Texas will probably still stand guard,” Constitutional Law Professor at South Texas College of Law in Houston Josh Blackman said to KXAN.
“So, let’s say a court today puts it on hold, and the Court of Appeals puts it back in place [Thursday]. If an abortion were performed [Wednesday] evening, that could be the basis for a $10,000 judgment,” he said.
“Though the court’s ruling offers a sigh of relief, the threat of Texas’ abortion ban still looms over the state as cases continue to move through the courts. We already know the politicians behind this law will stop at nothing until they’ve banned abortion entirely,” Brigitte Amiri, the deputy director of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, said. “This fight is far from over, and we’re ready to do everything we can to make sure every person can get the abortion care they need regardless of where they live or how much they make.”
“This injunction is a critical first step in restoring abortion rights and services in Texas. For 36 days, patients have been living in a state of panic, not knowing where or when they’d be able to get abortion care. The clinics and doctors we represent hope to resume full abortion services as soon as they are able, even though the threat of being sued retroactively will not be completely gone until SB 8 is struck down for good. The cruelty of this law is endless,” Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said.
“Texas Democrats are celebrating the news of a temporary injunction to Abbott’s dystopian abortion ban. This ban is uniquely harmful, exceptionally cruel, and blatantly unconstitutional — and since this ban took effect, people across our state are facing unconscionable obstacles to important health care and gutted access to their constitutional rights. I’m incredibly grateful to the federal government for stepping in, doing the right thing, and suing Texas’ Republican government to block this ban,” Texas Democratic Party Co-Executive Director Hannah Roe Beck said.
“For more than a month now, Texans have been deprived of abortion access because of an unconstitutional law that never should have gone into effect. The relief granted by the court today is overdue, and we are grateful that the Department of Justice moved quickly to seek it. While this fight is far from over, we are hopeful that the court’s order blocking S.B. 8 will allow Texas abortion providers to resume services as soon as possible. Planned Parenthood providers across the country have reported serving Texas patients, who are heartbroken and furious that they’ve needed to leave home for essential health care — often at great expense. Planned Parenthood will continue fighting this ban in court, until we are certain that Texans’ ability to access abortion is protected,” Alexis McGill Johnson, the President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said.
