Biden Administration Sues Texas Over Extreme Abortion Law
- cliffordwoods1987
- Oct 6, 2021
- 2 min read
The Biden administration argues that Texas has passed extreme abortion laws that defy the Constitution.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland made the point during a meeting yesterday (September 11) that: "Last week, after the Supreme Court allowed Texas Senate Bill 8 to go into effect, I said that the Department of Justice is evaluating all options to protect the constitutional rights of women and others.Today, after a careful assessment of facts and legislation, the Department of Justice filed a petition. sue the State of Texas."
The document reads: “Constitutional law provided that 'a State may not prohibit any woman from making the final decision to terminate a pregnancy before viability ...' But Texas did. do exactly that.
After pressure from within his party, President Joe Biden released a statement last week saying: "The overnight Supreme Court ruling is an unprecedented attack on constitutional rights. women's regulation under Roe v. Wade, which has been the law of the country for nearly 50 years. . "
“This action is clearly unconstitutional given the Supreme Court precedent,” Garland said at a press conference. "Those precedents, in the words of Planned Parenthood v. Casey, are that 'whether or not a particular case is exceptional, a state may not prohibit any woman from making the final decision to terminate a pregnancy. period before it becomes feasible."
The Justice Department is seeking a permanent injunction from a federal court in Texas, but it is likely the case will end up in the Supreme Court.
Before that, the "Texas Heartbeat Act" went into effect on September 1, prohibiting doctors from performing or abortions after "heart activity" in an embryo could be detected by ultrasound, about six week. The Biden administration said that would raise the issue of "bounty hunters" through denouncing abortions.
The new law does not include any exceptions for rape or incest, other than "medical emergencies". For the first time, the law also allows any private citizen to bring civil action against anyone who assists a pregnant person in seeking an abortion. That's not limited to health care providers, but could technically include taxi drivers or friends who could take someone to an abortion clinic.
The act has drawn a lot of criticism and protests from activists, politicians and health professionals. Civil liberties groups and abortion rights advocates filed an urgent appeal to block the law, though the US Supreme Court upheld the law in a late-night vote Wednesday last week.
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