United States: government to ask Supreme Court to block Texas anti-abortion law
After the confirmation of the maintenance of the anti-abortion law by a Louisiana court of appeal, the Biden government wants to ask the Supreme Court to block the text.
AP - J. Scott Applewhite
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
The battle over the Texas abortion law continues in the United States.
Latest episode to date, the fifth federal court of appeal voted Thursday in favor of maintaining the law which prohibits any abortion after six weeks in this state.
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With our correspondent in Houston,
Thomas Harms
Two votes to one, the three judges of the Fifth Federal Court of Appeal in New Orleans went in favor of the Republican judicial authorities in Texas on Thursday, October 15.
A little over a week ago,
a federal judge suspended the law
pending a substantive review.
Some Texan clinics then resumed pregnancy terminations.
But this Louisiana court has just confirmed that the law can remain in force as long as the proceedings are in progress.
And that comes as no surprise to Poppy Northcutt, the president of the national women's organization in that state.
"
I am not at all surprised by the decision of the fifth court, it is an extremely conservative court, very, very to the right,
" she points out.
Judge Ho is well known for his very anti-abortion positions, Judge Haynes also has an anti-abortion record.
"
Texan law prohibits abortion as
soon as the embryo's heartbeat is detectable, i.e. around six weeks of pregnancy when most women are still unaware of being pregnant, and does not provide for an exception in the event of incest or rape.
► Also listen: United States: in Texas, the right to abortion has been considerably restricted
The 5th Federal Court of Appeal has nevertheless agreed to hear the arguments of the Biden administration on December 6.
A high court dominated by conservatives
For its part, the US justice department has announced that it wants to ask the Supreme Court to stop Texas law as soon as possible.
But nothing says when the judges will answer this request even if comparable laws have been struck down in court because they violate the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court, which guarantees the right of women to abort as long as the fetus is not. viable, i.e. around 22 weeks gestation.
"
It is common knowledge that the Supreme Court is made up of a majority of anti-abortion judges,
" she said.
I do not expect any good news from these two courses.
The day after the anti-abortion law came into effect, on September 1, the United States Supreme Court urgently decided not to block it. The high court had invoked the fact that the text of Texas includes a single device which entrusts “
exclusively
” to the citizens the care of enforcing the measure by inciting them to lodge a complaint against the organizations or the people which help the women to abort illegally.
In neighboring Oklahoma, a woman was convicted of murder for miscarriage on Thursday and is due to serve four years in prison.
Justice ruled that the fetus was dead because of his drug use.
The autopsy showed birth defects of the baby.
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