The 5th United States Circuit Court of Appeals recently decided that the controversial abortion law in Texas will continue to remain in force. The abortion law will not allow abortions after around six weeks of pregnancy.
Such abortion law has been widely criticized, especially because the time limit that comes with the abortion law is around the same time a woman usually knows she is pregnant. The law bans abortions once there is already fetal cardiac activity detected.
Panel Voted Two To One
CNN reported that the 5th United States Circuit Court of Appeals panel of three voted two to one for the continued enforcement of the abortion law in Texas. Those who voted to let the law remain in place are appellate judges Catharina Haynes and James Ho, and Judge Carl Stewart dissented.
Initially, the abortion ban was blocked by U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman after the Justice Department challenged the law in federal court. Texas appealed Pitman’s order, and that was when the 5th United States Circuit Court of Appeals took on the case.
The 5th United States Circuit Court of Appeals put a brief administrative hold on the order while considering Pitman’s appeal order. With how everything turned out, the Justice Department is expected to have the Supreme Court decision on the matter.
Texas Abortion Clinics Continue To Provide Services
After Pitman’s order came down, some clinics in Texas continued to provide abortion services to patients who were beyond six weeks in their pregnancies. CNN said the clinics did this at some legal risk because Texas law allows actions to be brought against these clinics if they conduct an act contrary to a law blocked by a court order and if a higher court later reverses the order.
Private citizens are deputized by Texas law to bring state court litigation against such providers or against a person who assists a woman in obtaining an abortion after the heartbeat is detected.
