Texas Urges Supreme Court To Leave Abortion Law In Place

Austin TX

21 October, 2021

1:52 PM

Description

AUSTIN, TX— Texas urged the Supreme Court on Thursday to leave its abortion law in place and told the justices there's no reason to rush into the case. The state filed its response Thursday to the Biden administration's call on the high court to block the law, which has become the most restrictive law on abortions in the nation, and rule conclusively this term on the measure's constitutionality. Senate Bill 8, known to many as the Texas Heartbeat Bill, prohibits abortions once medical professionals can detect cardiac activity — usually around six weeks, before some women know they're pregnant. Through the law, private citizens can sue health care providers who perform abortions after around six weeks gestation. The law currently does not provide any exceptions for cases of rape or incest. Live in Austin? Click here to subscribe to our free breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox and mobile devices. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and download our free mobile app on Android or iPhone. In its court filing, Texas defended an order by a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that allowed the abortion law to go back into effect after a lower-court judge put it on hold. "In sum, far from being demonstrably wrong, the Fifth Circuit's conclusion that Texas is likely to prevail was entirely right," the state wrote. The Biden administration argues the law is "clearly unconstitutional" because it bans abortions at roughly six weeks, long before a fetus can survive outside the womb. AP reports the Supreme Court's major abortion rulings make clear that states can regulate - but not prohibit - abortions before the point of fetal viability. Texas is also opposing the Biden administration's call for the court to take up the abortion law and rule on its constitutionality, even though the 5th Circuit has yet to do so. The state said if the court agrees to the Biden administration's request, it also should consider whether to overrule high-court rulings that reach back nearly 50 years guaranteeing a right to an abortion. "If the Court decides to construe the federal government's application as a cert petition, it may also construe this response as a conditional cross-petition on the question whether the Constitution recognizes and protects a tight to abortion and whether the Court should reconsider its decision in Roe vs. Wade and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v Casey," the court filing said. Since the law has taken effect, Texas clinics have said abortions are down about 80 percent and woman in the state have flocked to clinics in other states to obtain abortions, AP reports.