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| ASSOCIATED PRESS |
Topline: The Biden administration sued Texas Thursday over the state’s near-total ban on abortion, part of a broader effort by the federal government to fight against the most extreme abortion regulations to take effect since Roe v. Wade—though the lawsuit could be complicated by the law’s novel enforcement approach designed to make it harder for the courts to strike it down.
Key Facts
- U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the Department of Justice had sued Texas because the law violates U.S. Supreme Court precedent stipulating that abortion is legal, alleging the law violates the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause and the 14th Amendment, “is preempted by federal law and violates the doctrine of federal immunity.”
- Garland also said the Texas law conflicts with federal law by undercutting federal agencies’ authority and preventing them from carrying out certain responsibilities, as well as leaving federal officials open to legal liability, including at such departments as the Department of Labor, the Office of Refugee Resettlement, the Bureau of Prisons, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Office of Personnel Management.
- The Texas law, Senate Bill 8 (SB 8), blocks all abortions after a “fetal heartbeat” is detected—a term medical experts criticize as factually misleading—which is approximately six weeks into a pregnancy.
- The law is expected to be harder to strike down in court than other abortion bans because it can only be enforced by private citizens bringing lawsuits against anyone that “aids and abets” an abortion, rather than the government. --->READ MORE HERE
| AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File |
The Department of Justice on Thursday filed suit over Texas' strict new "heartbeat" abortion law that prohibits the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced.
"After careful assessment of the facts and the law, the Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas," Garland said in a press conference, describing the law as "clearly unconstitutional under longstanding Supreme Court precedent."
The legal action, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, comes after the Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision last Thursday declined a request from abortion providers in Texas to block the law.
The "heartbeat" law bans abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which typically occurs at the six-week mark of pregnancy, a time when many women do not yet know they are pregnant.
The DOJ's lawsuit, which was filed in US District Court for the Western District of Texas and names the state itself as a defendant, seeks a declaratory judgment finding the law to be "invalid, null, and void" on its face and an injunction "prohibiting any and all enforcement of S.B. 8" by actors of the state and private parties. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to related stories:
Biden jumps into Texas abortion fight with limited options
DOJ sues Texas over abortion law
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott: Biden Suing over Abortion Law to Distract from Afghanistan, Border Failures
Justice Department sues Texas over abortion ban
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