On Friday evening, a federal appeals court reinstated Texas’ “heartbeat” abortion law after a lower court issued an injunction blocking the enforcement of the law this week, as Rebecca reported.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an administrative stay, halting U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman’s ruling on Wednesday which granted a temporary injunction over the law, S.B. 8. S.B. 8, which took effect on Sept. 1, bans abortions statewide once fetal heartbeat is detected.
Following Pitman’s ruling, at least six clinics in Texas resumed providing abortion services past the six-week threshold, which is around the time a fetal heartbeat is detected, as I reported. Now, clinics in Texas that provide abortions will be prohibited to do so pending further legal actions.
On Twitter, one Texas-based abortion provider, Whole Women’s Health, said that every abortion performed during the temporary injunction was a “win” and that “Texans deserve better.”
The 5th Circuit Court has removed the injunction. Frankly, we knew this would happen and that is why we provided abortions beyond six weeks the moment it was a possibility. Our patients deserve better. Texans deserve better. https://t.co/K9imOpoMCI
— Whole Woman's Health (@WholeWomans) October 9, 2021
Good morning! Every abortion we performed in Texas during the injunction was a (say it if you know it!) win.
— Whole Woman's Health (@WholeWomans) October 9, 2021
The Center for Reproductive Rights' President and CEO Nancy Northup said in a statement that the Supreme Court needs to intervene and that “patients are being thrown back into a state of chaos and fear.”
“The Supreme Court needs to step in and stop this madness. It’s unconscionable that the Fifth Circuit stayed such a well-reasoned decision that allowed constitutionally protected services to return in Texas.
Patients are being thrown back into a state of chaos and fear, and this cruel law is falling hardest on those who already face discriminatory obstacles in health care, especially Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, undocumented immigrants, young people, those struggling to make ends meet, and those in rural areas. The courts have an obligation to block laws that violate fundamental rights.”
Adiana Pinon, the senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Texas said in a statement that “[t]he Fifth Circuit has failed again to preserve a critical right that has long existed in the United States.”
“Abortion is critical health care, and no one should be denied safe and legal access to it,” she added.
On the contrary, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, celebrated the Court’s decision on Twitter.
Great news tonight, The Fifth Circuit has granted an administrative stay on #SB8. I will fight federal overreach at every turn. https://t.co/Mrfj3lt2ix
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) October 9, 2021
In Pitman’s ruling on Wednesday, he described S.B. 8 as “flagrantly unconstitutional” and “offensive.” Furthermore he claimed that from the moment S.B. 8 became law, “women have been unlawfully prevented from exercising control over their lives in ways that are protected by the Constitution.” The injunction came at the request of the Biden administration, as after S.B. 8 took effect, President Biden promised a “whole-of-government” approach to fight the law. Shortly after, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that the Department of Justice (DOJ) would sue Texas over S.B. 8.
As I covered this week, Paxton said via Twitter that “[w]e disagree with the Court's decision and have already taken steps to immediately appeal it [the temporary injunction] to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals,” following Pitman’s ruling. Pitman was appointed by President Obama in 2014.
S.B. 8, which was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott in May, was upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States in a 5-4 ruling the day it took effect. In response, pro-abortion politicians introduced the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA), which would “codify” the precedents set by Roe v. Wade into federal law, leaving states unable to make laws restricting access to abortion.
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