A federal judge temporarily struck down Texas\u2019 near-total ban on abortions Wednesday.<\/b>
\nLess than 24 hours after a federal judge temporarily blocked Texas\u2019 ban on abortion following six weeks of pregnancy Wednesday evening, healthcare provider Whole Woman\u2019s Health began offering abortions to Texas patients who were previously denied care. \u201cIn this climate, every single abortion we can provide is a win,\u201d Whole Woman\u2019s Health tweeted Thursday afternoon. Texas\u2019 law bans abortions in non-emergency situations if a provider detects fetal cardiac activity, which typically takes place around six weeks into a pregnancy, before many people realize they\u2019re pregnant. The law also puts enforcement in the hands of private citizens instead of government officials, by allowing anybody to sue an individual who \u201caids or abets\u201d an abortion and collect at least $10,000 in damages if they\u2019re successful. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to overturn the law last month, clearing the way for some of the nation\u2019s most stringent abortion rules since the court\u2019s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. But on Wednesday, federal judge Robert Pitman sided with the U.S. Department of Justice \u2014 which sued Texas \u2014 and temporarily halted the law, which he called an \u201coffensive deprivation\u201d of constitutional rights. Texas plans to appeal Pitman\u2019s ruling, meaning it will move to the often-conservative Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. If Pitman\u2019s injunction is overturned, people who aided abortions in accordance with his ruling could face lawsuits, because Texas\u2019 law doesn\u2019t allow defendants to argue the law was blocked when an abortion took place. Miller said some Whole Woman\u2019s Health physicians are currently comfortable performing abortions despite this looming legal uncertainty, but a \u201clarger group\u201d plan to wait until the Supreme Court weighs in. \u201cMore often than not, good things that happen for us in the district court sometimes get reversed in the Circuit Court [of Appeals],\u201d Miller said. Texas\u2019 Abortion Law Has Been Struck Down\u2014For Now. Here\u2019s Why That Might Not Last For Long. (Forbes)<\/p>\n