The Texas Supreme Court has delivered another blow to abortion providers who are challenging the state’s abortion restrictions, rejecting a lawsuit that objected to the state licensing board enforcing the law.
At issue was whether licensing boards can penalize abortion providers who violate the law that prohibits abortions after a heartbeat is heard, which is usually around six to eight weeks of pregnancy.
Abortion providers hoped the issue would get the court to strike down the entire law as a government overreach upon women’s constitutional rights.
The Texas high court, though, disagreed.
“We conclude that Texas law does not authorize the state-agency executives to enforce the Act’s requirements, either directly or indirectly,” the opinion read.
The Texas law curtailing most abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected went into effect Sept. 1. Although the ban faces legal challenges, the Supreme Court has not imposed a stay on Texas enforcing it while the litigation proceeds.
Under Texas law, an abortion provider can only perform an abortion past the limit if there is a medical emergency for the pregnant woman. The emergency must be thoroughly documented and the records retained by the clinic.
Ultimately, it is up to the abortion provider to halt any abortion procedure if a fetal heartbeat is detected.
If a provider ignores the heartbeat and continues the procedure, the provider could be subject to a civil lawsuit brought by any individual — not the state — for violating the law.
Any provider who performs or anyone who assists a pregnant person in obtaining an abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected also can be sued for violating the legislation by any citizen.
It differs from other pro-life state laws in that it gives private citizens the right to sue abortion providers and anyone assisting in the unlawful procedure in civil court rather than leaving a criminal probe to state officials.
If an individual successfully sues an abortion provider or anyone else who assisted a person in obtaining an unlawful abortion, the court can reward $10,000 to the plaintiff who brought the case.
Because the law allows private citizens to enforce it, abortion providers have not had luck in the courts challenging it.
The Supreme Court declined to block enforcement after the providers sued Texas state officials, though the justices left open the question about whether medical licensing boards would be enforcing the law by suspending licenses of abortion providers who violate it and face lawsuits.
The Texas high court’s ruling held that they do not.
