The Texas Heartbeat Act, also known as SB 8, won another legal round on April 26 when the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sent the case back to the federal trial court where it originated, with instructions to dismiss all challenges to its private enforcement provisions.
And that all but ends the abortion industry’s attempt to stop the law in the federal courts. The act which went into effect September 1, 2021, has state cases that remain pending.
Fox News reports the contents of the 5th Circuit’s brief ruling:
“Having received the ruling of the Texas Supreme Court that named officials defendants may not enforce the provisions of the Texas Heartbeat Act… this court REMANDS the case with instructions to dismiss all challenges to the private enforcement provisions of the statute and to consider whether plaintiffs have standing to challenge.”
Pro-life groups are celebrating.
Texas Right to Life’s Kim Schwartz told LifeNews:
“The Fifth Circuit’s instruction to dismiss the challenge to the Texas Heartbeat Act’s enforcement mechanism confirms what Tex Right to Life has known since the beginning: the abortion industry’s legal attacks are meritless.”
The law has been in and out of state and federal courts numerous times, including several trips to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The last journey the law took was a side trip from the federal courts to the Texas Supreme Court on a question of whether any of the Texas government officials mentioned in SB 8 actually had enforcement responsibilities.
The answer the Texas justices came up with was “no,” and now the 5th Circuit has taken that response and applied it in the federal case.
The Texas law continues to save thousands of babies as abortionists have stopped performing most abortions in the Lone Star State. And other states are beginning to adopt the Texas model.
The latest result is great news for babies and for Texas and bad news for the abortion industry.
Related:
Texas Heartbeat Law Survives Major Legal Hurdle, Remains in Effect
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