In a lawsuit brought by the DOJ, a federal judge just blocked the Texas pro-life law which bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, claiming the law was an “offensive deprivation of such an important right”:
NBC NEWS – A federal judge granted the Justice Department a temporary injunction late Wednesday blocking the enforcement of Texas’ strict abortion law.
U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman issued the order, which will block the state from enforcing the law, known as S.B. 8, which was passed by the GOP-controlled Legislature. The Supreme Court declined in September to block the law while legal challenges are pending.
“From the moment S.B. 8 went into effect, women have been unlawfully prevented from exercising control over their lives in ways that are protected by the Constitution,” Pitman said in his ruling. “That other courts may find a way to avoid this conclusion is theirs to decide; this Court will not sanction one more day of this offensive deprivation of such an important right.”
Pitman said the Texas Legislature “contrived an unprecedented and transparent statutory scheme” to enact a near-total ban on abortions in the state.
This was to be expected and we know this fight won’t end until it reaches the Supreme Court.
However I should note that the judge in this case was an Obama appointee, which is almost obvious with his offensive language calling abortion an “important right”. Clearly a leftist judge.
Texas has now appealed the case to the 5th Circuit:
Texas swiftly appealed Pitman’s order to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which could issue a stay and allow the law to remain in effect while litigation proceeds.
The 5th Circuit does appear to be a less activist appeals court than some of the others, so I’d say there’s a good chance they could undo this terrible decision and let the law continue.