A Texas federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked a controversial law banning the majority of abortions in that state, as part of a lawsuit filed by the Biden government that immediately hailed a “victory” for Texans. “This court will not allow this shocking deprivation of such an important right to continue one more day,” Judge Robert Pitman wrote in his ruling, which the State of Texas can appeal.
Texas law, which came into effect on September 1, prohibits abortion once the embryo’s heartbeat is detected – around six weeks pregnant, when most women don’t know they’re pregnant. It does not provide for an exception in the event of incest or rape, but only in the event of a medical emergency. In recent years, comparable laws have been passed by a dozen other conservative states and struck down in court because they violate the jurisprudence of the United States Supreme Court. This guarantees the right of women to have an abortion as long as the fetus is not viable, ie around 22 weeks of pregnancy.
Judicial battle
But the Supreme Court, where conservative justices have been in the clear majority since Donald Trump’s tenure, invoked “new procedural questions” to refuse, a month ago, to block Texan law as demanded by defenders of the law. to abortion. In question, the responsibility resting “exclusively” on the citizens to make respect the text, in particular by inciting them to lodge a complaint against the people helping to abort illegally.
A legal battle has therefore arisen between the federal government and Texas, where elected officials are predominantly Republicans. The group of abortion opponents Susan B. Anthony List has denounced the decision of “an unelected judge” while “the people of Texas have spoken through their elected officials and want to protect babies with hearts that bat ”. Texas law could therefore quickly become topical again.