President Biden’s Justice Department sued the state of Texas on Thursday to try to block the nation’s most restrictive abortion law, which bans the procedure as early as six weeks into pregnancy and allows private citizens to take legal action against anyone who helps a woman terminate her pregnancy.
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At a news conference to announce the lawsuit filed in federal court in Austin, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the ban “is clearly unconstitutional under longstanding Supreme Court precedent.”
The suit asks a judge to declare the measure unlawful, block its enforcement and “protect the rights that Texas has violated.”
Garland said the law is invalid under the Supremacy Clause and the Fourteenth Amendment, is preempted by federal law, and violates the doctrine of intergovernmental immunity. The U.S. government has “an obligation to ensure that no state can deprive individuals of their constitutional rights,” he said.
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The Biden administration’s decision to intervene comes after a divided Supreme Court last week refused to stop enforcement of the law, which prohibits most abortions in Texas at a stage when many women do not yet realize they are pregnant.
The only exceptions are when a woman’s health or life are at stake. The law took effect Sept. 1.
Abortion opponents watch for violations of Texas ban as providers weigh legal options
President Biden and Democrats in Congress have sharply criticized the law and the Supreme Court’s decision not to block the ban, which they say clearly violates a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion.
A dozen other states have passed legislation banning abortion after about six weeks into pregnancy. But federal judges have stopped those measures from taking effect, finding the laws inconsistent with Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision guaranteeing the right to choose abortion before viability, usually around 22 to 24 weeks.
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The Texas law was designed to withstand a similar preemptive legal challenge. It intentionally bars enforcement by state government officials, whom abortion providers would typically target in a lawsuit.
Instead, the law empowers private citizens to file civil lawsuits against anyone who helps a woman get an abortion after the six-week window. Those private citizens can receive a $10,000 award if their lawsuits are successful. Individuals can target abortion providers, clinic workers or those who help a woman pay for the procedure or drive her to a clinic.
FAQ:What to know about the Texas abortion law
In its 5-to-4 decision last week, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority said abortion providers and civil rights groups had “raised serious questions regarding the constitutionality of the Texas law.” But the majority allowed the ban to take effect while the legal battle plays out, saying the abortion providers and advocates who had challenged the law could not show they were suing the right people.
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Their lawsuit had targeted state court judges and court clerks, who would have to accept lawsuits alleging violations of the ban in order for those suits to go forward. The Supreme Court majority said it was premature for the court to step in because it is “unclear whether the named defendants can or will seek to enforce the Texas law.”
All of the dissenting justices wrote separately, with the court’s three liberal justices characterizing the Texas law as an end-run around the Constitution and court precedent.
“Because of this Court’s ruling, Texas law prohibits abortions for the vast majority of women who seek them — in clear, and indeed undisputed, conflict with” past court decisions, wrote Justice Elena Kagan.
Analysis: Supreme Court’s order on Texas abortion ban shows threat to Roe v. Wade
Garland said in a statement Monday that his agency would do all it could to guarantee access to abortion in the nation’s second-largest state; legal scholars and advocates have suggested that a lawsuit alleging women’s civil rights are being violated under the new law is one avenue the Biden administration could take.
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Even before the Justice Department’s announcement, supporters of the law put out a statement criticizing the Biden administration for the planned lawsuit, calling it a “desperate attempt” to block the measure.
Biden “is a puppet of the radical abortion agenda, and his DOJ will quickly find that they do not have jurisdiction to stop the Texas Heartbeat Act,” said Elizabeth Graham, vice president of Texas Right to Life.
Can Texans still get abortions out of state? We answered your questions on the Texas abortion ban.
The law is already having an impact. Abortion clinics in Texas say they are abiding by the six-week ban and sending women who are further along in their pregnancies across state lines to seek the procedure.
Texas Right to Life, which backed the law, was collecting anonymous tips on its website about potential violations of the law, but so far no lawsuits have been filed against abortion providers in state court.
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Separately, several advocacy organizations that help women access abortions have won temporary restraining orders in local courts that bar Texas Right to Life and others from using the law to sue them.
Those court orders are limited to the people involved and do not stop other individuals or organizations from filing lawsuits against anyone involved in an illegal abortion.
This is a developing story. It will be updated.