A Texas state judge on Friday temporarily banned an anti-abortion organization from suing Planned Parenthood affiliates in the state as part of the new restrictive abortion law.
Travis County District Court Judge Maya Guerra Gamble issued a temporary restraining order against Texas Right to Life, an anti-abortion group that launched a “whistleblower” website asking for advice on abortions that would be illegal under the new law, SB 8.
“The court finds that SB 8 creates a probable, irreparable, and imminent injury in the interim period for which plaintiffs and their physicians, staff, and patients throughout Texas have no adequate legal recourse if the plaintiffs, their physicians, and the personnel are subject to private enforcement lawsuits against them according to SB 8, ”Gamble wrote.
The order, which expires Sept. 17, prevents Texas Right to Life from suing abortion providers and Planned Parenthood clinic workers under the law, which went into effect Wednesday and bans most abortions around of the six weeks of pregnancy.
The bill, signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in May, allows private citizens to take legal action against doctors or anyone else who helps terminate a pregnancy, even those who drive a woman to an abortion appointment after pregnancy. time when the heartbeat can be detected. anyone who successfully sues another person who is entitled to a minimum of $ 10,000.
Uber and Lyft shared travel apps announced Friday they would cover “100%” of the costs of any of their employees sued under the new law for driving patients or workers to abortion clinics.
The ban went into effect earlier this week after the U.S. Supreme Court failed to act on an emergency request from abortion providers to block it.
Planned Parenthood welcomed Gamble’s sentence.
“We are relieved that the Travis County District Court has acted expeditiously to grant this restraining order against the right to life of Texas and anyone working with them as alternate executors of this draconian law,” he planned Helene Krasnoff, vice president for litigation and public policy laws. Parenthood Federation of America said in a statement.
“This restraining order provides protection to brave health care providers and staff at Planned Parenthood health centers across Texas, who have continued to provide the best possible care under the law as they face surveillance, harassment and the threats of vigilantes wishing to stop them. ” ”
But Texas Right to Life said it remained “discouraged” despite the temporary restraining order.
“This lawsuit will not stop the work of Texas Right to Life,” the group’s vice president, Elizabeth Graham, said in a statement to The Hill. “It is estimated that approximately 150 babies are saved a day due to Texas Right to Life’s leadership in the Texas Heartbeat Act. Planned Parenthood may continue to sue us, but Texas Right to Life will never withdraw from the protection of pregnant women and children before abortion.
The next hearing on this topic is scheduled for September 13th.
With publishing cables