In a ruling Friday, the Texas Supreme Court delivered another legal blow to abortion providers’ federal lawsuit challenging the state’s abortion restrictions.
The court ruled state agencies are not authorized to enforce the law, and thus, recommended the abortion industry’s lawsuit be dismissed.
“There is nothing left, this case is effectively over with respect to our challenge to the abortion ban,” said Marc Hearron, attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights, which led the challenge against the Texas law known as Senate Bill 8.
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Although Texas abortion clinics are not dropping the lawsuit, they now expect it will be dismissed in the coming weeks or months.
The Texas law bans abortion after roughly six weeks of pregnancy and makes no exceptions in cases of rape or incest. Abortions in Texas have plummeted by more than 50% since the law took effect.
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In a statement, the pro-life group Texas Right to Life called the ruling, “a big victory.”
“Today’s ruling is a big victory for the life-saving Texas Heartbeat Act,” the group said. “We have said from the beginning that abortionists’ lawsuit should be dismissed. The Legislature clearly never intended state agencies to participate in enforcing the Texas Heartbeat Act, and the Supreme Court of Texas agreed. This is not the final step in the journey, as the case will now return to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, but it affirms a positive path forward for the historic law. We’re grateful that the Texas Heartbeat Act will continue saving thousands of lives, and we’re hopeful that the judiciary will soon pave the way to protect all preborn children by overturning Roe v. Wade.”
Lia Rose, president of Live Action, called the ruling, “a big win for children in Texas.”
“This is a big win for children in Texas,” she said in a statement. “The Supreme Court of Texas has ruled against the abortion industry in their litigation against the Texas Heart Beat Law. The law will continue to protect children with a detectable heartbeat from the violence of abortion.”
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