US Federal Judge temporarily Stopped Texas to enforce most Abortion Bans

Listen to this article

On Wednesday, a US federal judge temporarily stopped Texas from enforcing the controversial abortion ban that bars the procedure 6 weeks into pregnancy. Federal Judge Robert L. Pitman has granted the Department of Justice’s motion for a temporary restraining order as the constitutionality of the law is further litigated in the courts. The order says, “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. 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”. The Judge also denied the state’s motion to dismiss the Justice Department’s lawsuit challenging the law.

The judge takes the constitutionality of the Texas law head-on in his scathing 113-page ruling, writing that it is substantially likely that courts will find that S.B. 8 violates the 14^th Amendment. Pitman ruled the law places an “undue burden” on women seeking abortion in Texas and thus violates their rights, citing multiple comments and testimonies from clinicians and patients alike. The State of Texas argues, “If this situation does not constitute an undue burden”. Pitman said, “It is hard to imagine what would”. The judge concludes such a burden has already and will continue to cause irreparable harm to those seeking abortions. The Court also said, “People seeking abortions face irreparable harm when they are unable to access abortions; these individuals are entitled to access to abortions under the U.S. Constitution; S.B. 8 prevents access to abortion”.

Moreover, the state of Texas filed notice with the court that it plans to appeal Wednesday’s ruling to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. Point to be noted that Texas’ abortion law went into effect in September and is among the most restrictive measures taken for the nation. Pitman has ordered the state of Texas to notify all state judges and state court employees impacted by Wednesday’s decision and to publish this preliminary injunction on all of its public-facing court websites with a visible, easy-to-understand instruction to the public that S.B. 8 lawsuits will not be accepted by Texas courts. Planned Parenthood said in a statement that it was grateful for the ruling and that it would continue to fight the ban in court. The Justice Department sued Texas on September 9 and sought a temporary freeze against S.B. 8.