“We have said all along that in order to fully restore abortion access in Texas, we need a decision in the U.S. Supreme Court or the Texas Supreme Court,” said Julie Murray, a senior staff attorney at Planned Parenthood. “Today’s decision is a step in the right direction, but it is not enough relief for abortion providers.”
In his opinion, Judge Peeples wrote that the Texas Legislature did not have a right under the state’s Constitution to allow people who had not suffered any injury from a violation of the abortion law to come into court and sue. He also found that the granting of awards of “no less than $10,000” to anyone successful in their suits violated the right to due process under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Judge Peeples wrote that the law’s mechanism of delegating enforcement power to private citizens, if found constitutional, could be applied to all manner of contentious issues, including guns, same-sex marriage, freedom of speech and climate change.
“We are a diverse and creative people and it seems naïve to hope that these procedures will be cabined voluntarily,” he wrote.
Abortion providers said that if the ruling were upheld by the State Supreme Court, they would again begin providing abortions beyond six weeks of pregnancy because the law could not be enforced.
The number of abortions performed in Texas fell by roughly half in the weeks after the law went into effect, a fact that anti-abortion groups have credited to the law’s unique structure.
Ruth Graham contributed reporting.
Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/09/us/texas-abortion-law-unconstitutional.html
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