District court judge blocks landmark Texas 'fetal heartbeat' abortion law
Fox News
A district court judge issued a Temporary Restraining Order blocking Texas S.B. 8 abortion law on Wednesday, finding in favor of the U.S. Department of Justice, which had sought the order to block the law from going into effect.
The Texas law, signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in May, prohibits abortions once medical professionals can detect cardiac activity, usually around six weeks and before many women know they’re pregnant. The law creates a private right of action against individuals who commit or aid and abet an abortion that violates the law – but not against the woman who undergoes the procedure.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals had granted a stay, preventing the law from going into effect until the resolution of a court dispute, but the Supreme Court allowed the law to go into effect. The Department of Justice under President Biden then filed a motion to block the law, and Pittman ruled on that motion.
Judge Pittman found that Texas had violated the precedents under Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that upholds a right to abortion, and ordered the state not to enforce the law.