WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — A federal judge suspended the Texas heartbeat abortion ban this week, saying the law is an “offensive deprivation” of “an important right.”
The temporary suspension came after the Biden administration sued Texas in an attempt to stop the restrictive abortion law after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the ban to take effect.
“We had 36 days of an essential six-week abortion ban,” said Jules Mandel with the Texas Freedom Network.
Mandel said this week’s order should allow providers to resume performing abortions.
“I’d imagine it’s going to vary provider-to-provider, depending on what they had to scale down in the interim when this ban was in effect,” Mandel said.
Federal Judge Robert Pitman also wrote that Texas knew banning abortions would be “flagrantly unconstitutional” so the state “contrived an unprecedented and transparent statutory scheme.”
The judge took issue with the state tasking citizens with enforcing the ban through lawsuits, saying it was an attempt to circumvent judicial review. Texas is appealing the ruling.
“His opinion was an incredible piece of advocacy, I mean it’s full of not necessarily legal analysis but really repeating lines from the left,” said Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO).
Hawley and fellow Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas expect the case to reach the Supreme Court.
“Abortion debate has gotten so radicalized, zero consideration is given to the rights of this unborn child and there needs to be, I think, another look at this by the Supreme Court,” said Cornyn.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on the Mississippi 15-week abortion ban in December. The senators say a decision in the case could play a role in the fate of the Texas law.
