WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department said Friday that the federal government will ask the Supreme Court to reverse a lower court decision on a restrictive…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department said Friday that the federal government will ask the Supreme Court to reverse a lower court decision on a restrictive Texas law that has banned most abortions since September. A federal appeals court on Thursday said the Texas law should stay in force while a Department of Justice lawsuit challenging the law proceeds through the courts. It’s just the latest court action on the law, which is now headed for the Supreme Court for a second time. Here are some questions and answers about the law and its path through the courts. HOW EXACTLY DID TEXAS’ LAW GET TO THIS POINT? Texas’ Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in May signed a law that bans abortions in Texas before many women even know they are pregnant. The law bans abortions once cardiac activity is detected, usually around six weeks. The law differs from similar efforts to restrict abortions in other states by leaving enforcement to private citizens, who can sue doctors or anyone who helps a woman get an abortion. The law was challenged by abortion rights advocates before it went into effect in September, but its unique enforcement mechanism frustrated those efforts at the time. The law made one previous trip to the high court, which declined to intervene. After the law went into effect, the Biden administration filed a separate lawsuit challenging the law. It’s that lawsuit that’s now on track for the high court. WHAT HAPPENED PREVIOUSLY WHEN THE LAW WENT TO THE SUPREME COURT? The court let the law go into effect, voting 5-4 to deny an emergency appeal from abortion providers and others.
