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The Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas over its new law banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, Attorney General Merrick Garland said Thursday.
The Texas Heartbeat Act, or SB 8, signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in May, bans all abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, usually around six weeks, and also gives individuals the right to sue. abortion clinics or those that help women get abortions in the state.
BIDEN CRACKS TEXAS SUPREME COURT DECISION AS “AN UNPRECEDENTED ATTACK ON A WOMAN’S CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS”
Garland, joined by Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco and Deputy Attorney General Vanita Gupta, said in a press briefing Thursday that the law is “clearly unconstitutional under a long-standing Supreme Court precedent.”
“It does not depend on the executive branch of the state to enforce the law, as is the norm in Texas and everywhere else,” he said. “On the contrary, the law allows all private citizens, without any proof of personal connection or injury, to serve as bounty hunters, authorized to recover at least $ 10,000 per claim from individuals who facilitate the exercise by a woman of her constitutional rights. “
“The obvious and expressly recognized intention of this legal regime is to prevent women from exercising their constitutional rights by thwarting judicial review for as long as possible,” Garland said.
Garland warned that Texas law “could become a model” for similar action in other states, and said he imagines “the damage that would be done to our society if states were allowed to implement laws that allow particular to violate the constitution of others rights protected in this way.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s press secretary Renae Eze responded to the lawsuit in a statement accusing the Biden administration of attempting to back away from its widely criticized withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“The most precious freedom is life itself”, Eze noted. “Texas has passed a law that ensures the life of every child with a heartbeat will be spared the ravages of abortion. Unfortunately, President Biden and his administration are more interested in changing the national narrative of their disastrous evacuation from Afghanistan and their reckless policies of opening borders instead of protecting the unborn innocent, and we are confident that the courts will respect and protect this right to life.
The news comes just days after Garland said the department was “urgently” exploring “all options to challenge Texas SB 8 to protect women’s constitutional rights … including access to an abortion.”
The Supreme Court ruled last week in a 5-4 decision that the law can remain in effect.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also responded to the DOJ lawsuit, saying the administration should instead focus on other ongoing crises.
“Today, the Biden administration has sued every individual in Texas. Biden should focus on solving the border crisis, Afghanistan, the economy and countless other disasters instead of meddling in sovereign rights of the state. I will use all available resources to fight for life, “Paxton said.
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President Biden called the Supreme Court ruling last week an “unprecedented attack on a woman’s constitutional rights,” noting that while it was not a “final decision,” the decision required “an immediate response”.
The president said he was asking his Policy Council on Gender Equality and the White House Office of the Council to launch “a whole-of-government effort to respond to this decision,” specifically addressing the Ministry of Justice. Health and Social Services and the Department of Justice. to “see what steps the federal government can take to ensure that women in Texas have access to safe and legal abortions protected by Roe, and what legal tools we have to isolate women and providers from the impact of the bizarre program of the Texas application outsourced to private parties. “
Fox News’ Jake Gibson and Brooke Singman contributed reporting.
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