Another Big Twist in DOJ v. Texas Case

The heartbeat law in Texas that bans an abortion after a heartbeat has been detected has been down a bumpy road before ending up where it is now. We told you how a federal judge struck down the heartbeat bill just last week. And now the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has reinstated the law, temporarily, making the law in effect once again.
ACLJ Senior Counsel CeCe Heil explains the history of this law getting to this point:
"On September 1st this law went into effect, and it bans abortions once a baby’s heartbeat is detected. But it puts the enforcement procedure in the hands of individual citizens, and so that’s what makes it really interesting. . . . The abortion advocates sued Texas immediately. It went all the way up to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court let it stand on procedural grounds. Now the DOJ has sued Texas. We saw a district judge last Wednesday grant a preliminary injunction enjoining the law. But on Friday, Texas went to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the 5th Circuit granted an administrative stay. So, as it stands right now this law banning abortions effectively is in effect in Texas. Now, the DOJ did answer yesterday, so we will see what the 5th Circuit says if it can stand or if it will be enjoined pending this appeal."
In the meantime, while we wait for the 5th Circuit’s response, the pro-life movement is gaining significant momentum. We are representing Governor Kristi Noem and the State of South Dakota in upholding the state’s pro-life law. We have also filed three critical amicus briefs in the Dobbs case out of Mississippi that could overturn Roe v. Wade. We’ve been fighting this issue since as early as 1988.