The Justice Department is planning to request that the Supreme Court block Texas’s six-week abortion law after a federal appeals court ruled the statute can remain in effect.
The move comes after a late Thursday decision in which a panel for the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 to keep the Texas law, known as SB 8, in effect. Anthony Coley, a DOJ spokesman, said the federal government will ask the Supreme Court to reverse that decision.
APPEALS COURT ALLOWS TEXAS ABORTION LAW TO STAY IN PLACE WHILE LEGAL CHALLENGES PLAY OUT
The Texas law bans abortions once cardiac activity is detected, which is usually around six weeks of pregnancy. It has been in place since Sept. 1, when the Supreme Court declined to stop it from going into effect in a 5-4 ruling.
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However, the court voted without ruling on whether the measure was constitutional. The heartbeat law marks the nation’s most significant upheaval of abortion rights in nearly 50 years.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
