United States: legal battle over abortion rights continues in Texas
Pro-choice stickers at Reproductive Health Services staff offices in Houston, TX, USA, October 1, 2021. REUTERS - EVELYN HOCKSTEIN
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
In Texas, the right to abortion is the subject of a legal battle between the Republican state and the Democratic administration.
Texas law SB8 prohibits any abortion after 6 weeks of pregnancy, so 2 weeks after the possible observation of a delay in the rules.
On September 1, the law came into force, last Wednesday October 6, at night, a federal judge suspended it and Friday a federal court of appeal reinstated it.
What are the next steps ?
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With our correspondent in Houston,
Thomas Harms
Hours after being asked by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the 5th Federal Court of Appeal agreed to urgently lift the suspension of the anti-abortion law, before ruling next week on the legality of the blockage .
The justice department has until Tuesday, October 12 to send in its argument defending Federal Judge Robert Pitman's decision to suspend execution of the anti-abortion law in Texas.
The Texan authorities argue that the decision of this federal judge is an attack on the judicial sovereignty of their state.
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To read also:
Suspension of the anti-abortion law in Texas: the defenders of the rights do not cry victory
It is only after hearing from both sides, the Texas and the Biden administration, that the 5th Court of Appeals will rule next week on whether to uphold the 6-week abortion law where on the right to block this text in court, as long as its unconstitutionality is proven or not.
The 5th court jurisdiction includes Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.
Twelve of the 17 New Orleans-based 5th Court justices have been appointed by Republican presidents, including six by Donald Trump.
Towards a referral to the Supreme Court?
By leaving to citizens the responsibility of attacking the civilians and not the judicial authorities those who perform or assist in abortion after 6 weeks, the authors of the law have avoided that it is immediately declared unconstitutional because it flouts the Roe vs. jurisprudence. Wade of the Supreme Court of 1973 (which allows abortion until the viability of the fetus outside the womb).
The Biden administration could now go to the Supreme Court if the 5th Court of Appeals upholds the Texas abortion ban;
but the Supreme Court is already seized of the Mississippi case which has decided to ban abortions after 15 weeks, a decision is expected next July.
But these judges could then decide to put an end to the 1973 jurisprudence and therefore ban abortion in the United States under a Democratic presidency.
On Thursday and Friday, most abortion clinics in Texas did not take advantage of the law's suspension.
Those who have done so now risk being sued.
On the other hand, the appointments made in these clinics for abortions for Monday had to be canceled.
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See also: United States: demonstrations for the right to abortion across the country
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