Stock Groups

Analysis-Judge’s ruling on Texas abortion ban a warning to copycats, for now By Reuters

[ad_1]

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO – A Houston Women’s Reproductive Services clinic doctor discusses the results of an ultrasound with a Texas patient, U.S. October 1, 2021. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo

By Jan Wolfe

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – A U.S. Federal Judge’s Decision Blocking Texas’ Near-Total Abortion Ban is a Warning to Other States Considering Similar Measures. However, it could also be overturned in the next weeks by a Higher Court.

Texas’ law banning the procedure from six weeks, a point when many women may not even be aware they are pregnant, took effect last month after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/texas-six-week-abortion-ban-takes-effect-2021-09-01 to halt it from taking effect, in a late-night decision that took no stance on the law’s constitutionality.

Instead, it was allowed to stand because of an unusual mechanism which allows citizens to enforce it through civil lawsuits against those who aid or assist a woman in obtaining abortion.

U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman in Austin late Wednesday blasted https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-judge-blocks-enforcement-near-total-abortion-ban-texas-2021-10-07 the law as a “flagrant violation” of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that recognized a constitutional right to abortion.

Pitman was appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama. He said that he is particularly disturbed by the S.B. law. Pitman, who was appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama to serve as his advisor on enforcement matters said he was particularly troubled by the law named S.B.

Experts said that it was a warning sign to the at least 12 other states, which include South Carolina, Florida, and South Dakota, to take similar steps. The U.S. Department of Justice has the ability to appeal the ban structure.

David Noll of Rutgers Law School stated that while we are in the initial stages of the process, much will be determined by the judge and court assigned to this case. But this is only a snapshot of what the DOJ has to offer in the face of this type law.

Four Whole Woman’s Health abortion facilities in Texas have experienced a drop in patient visits, lost staff, and slowed recruitment efforts since the law was implemented. It stated that it would resume aborting abortions for up to 18 weeks after the decision was made.

DESIGNED FOR SUFFICIENCY IN CHALLENGES

Pitman explained that by delegating enforcement to individuals, the law sought to shield Texas from any legal challenges brought to the federal courts system.

The judge stated that the state deliberately obstructed the traditional process by writing, “Rather than subjecting their law to judicial scrutiny under the Constitution,”. It drafted this law to prevent review by federal courts, which have an obligation to protect the rights it likely violates.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (a Republican) defended the law in court. He stated in a statement, that his office did not agree with Pitman’s decision, and appealed to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Paxton stated, “The sanctity and protection of human life are, and will always remain, my top priority.”

Paxton’s legal team argued that the law is not intended to avoid judicial review and that private lawsuits are neither uncommon nor illegal.

According to Jessica Levinson (a Loyola Law School professor in Los Angeles), Pitman’s decision is “a warning” for anti-abortion legislators who wish to imitate Texas’ approach to enforce an abortion ban.

Florida Republicans already have a bill that incorporates this mechanism. Arizona, West Virginia, and Georgia lawmakers have indicated they are willing to adopt Texas’ private enforcement model.

Levinson warned that Pitman could have his ruling reversed by either the Fifth Circuit, or the Supreme Court.

Levinson said that the Fifth Circuit was the conservativest of intermediate federal appels courts, one level below the Supreme Court.

On Dec. 1, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in an additional case that involves a Mississippi law banning abortions within 15 weeks. Mississippi asked the Supreme Court to invalidate Roe v. Wade.

John Seago is the Texas Right to Life’s legislative director. He stated that Texas Right to Life believes Judge Pitman can be overturned on appeal.

Seago stated that “we believe Senate Bill 8 will be upheld.” He also said that the “typical” route for such cases is for a Federal Judge in Western Texas to rule in favor of Liberal Advocates, but later reversed by appeal.

Florida State Representative Anna Eskamani (a Democrat from Orlando) said Republican legislators should take note of Pitman’s ruling, and abandon plans to copy S.B. 8 and its approach to enforcement.

She said, “This is a clear message to all politicians that such a scheme is not legal.”

[ad_2]