A federal judge has temporarily banned enforcement ofTexas' restrictive Senate Bill 8.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman granted a preliminary injunction to suspend enforcement ofthe abortion ban, after the Justice Department argued that Senate Bill 8 was created “to prevent women from exercising their constitutional rights.”
The order blocks the state from enforcing the law in any capacity, including barring judges and court clerks from hearing or administering lawsuits brought against individuals who seek abortions or abortion providers under Senate Bill 8.
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Pro-choice protesters march outside the Texas State Capitol on Wednesday, Sept. 1, in Austin, Texas.Sergio Flores For The Washington Post via Getty
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement on Wednesday that the ruling “is an important step forward toward restoring the constitutional rights of women across the state of Texas.”
The law also rewards a minimum of $10,000 to private citizens who successfully sue abortion providers. Anyone who aids in an individual securing an abortion — including those driving the patient to a clinic or helping to cover the cost — can also be sued.
After the Supreme Courtdeclinedto block the law in a 5-4 vote, the Justice Departmentsued Texasover the law Sept. 9.
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“The act is clearly unconstitutional under long-standing Supreme Court precedent,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said at a news conference announcing the lawsuit, perThe Associated Press.
Sergio Flores/Getty
“We’re hearing that other states want to see how long this plays out, and can they create just as restrictive laws in their own states,” she explained.
While abortion care may be easily accessible for most women in states like New York, Rupani questioned, “will it be easy to access if other states outside of Texas start banning abortion?”
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“I think in Oklahoma, for the last three weeks, most of the patients at a couple of Oklahoma clinics have only been Texans. So that means you’re forcing Oklahomans out of their state, unfortunately, because that’s the first place Texans are going to get care,” she said. “And this is just going to create a chilling and trickle-down effect of where folks are going.”
source: people.com
