Texas abortion ban reinstated by US court
- US appeals court temporarily reinstates Texas’s near-total ban on abortion
- Order a setback to abortion rights advocates and the Biden administration
A three-member panel of the New Orleans-based appeals court put a temporary injunction on hold and ordered the US to respond by October 12.
The Texas law, known as SB-8, prohibits abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy – before many women know they’re pregnant – and has no exceptions for rape or incest. The law was drafted to make it difficult to challenge in court by delegating enforcement to individuals, who can sue anyone who performs abortions or helps, even by simply driving a woman to an abortion clinic.
The case was being closely watched in other Republican-led states that view the law as a template for restricting abortions and evading federal legal challenges. Conservatives nationwide are racing to rein in the procedure while seeking to weaken or overturn the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Roe vs Wade, which guarantees access to it.
The Supreme Court has already signalled deference to the Texas law. The court stunned pro-choice activists and civil rights groups when it allowed the ban to take effect in a 5-4 decision in a different suit, brought by Texas abortion providers.
US District Judge Robert Pitman in Austin temporarily blocked enforcement of the law at the request of the Justice Department, saying outsourcing enforcement of it to bounty-hunting members of the public was “contrived” to get around a constitutional right.