Judge Temporarily Blocks Abortion Ban In Texas

Abortions Carry On In Deep Red State Despite Roe Overturn

(TruthandLiberty.com) – Ahead of a potential Supreme Court ruling that would eventually overturn Roe v. Wade, numerous states passed “trigger” laws. Legislators designed these laws to go into effect if the Justices ruled to return abortion law decisions to the states under the 10th Amendment. On Friday, June 24, the High Court set the new laws in motion with its landmark decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. After the ruling, Texas announced it would enforce an old Texas law banning all abortions effective on Tuesday, July 5, until the trigger law took effect in late July. On Tuesday, June 28, a Texas state judge put the old law on hold.

So, what did Harris County Judge Christine Weems actually rule? In 1925, Texas passed an abortion ban that the Roe finding essentially gutted. Abortion groups argued the state immediately started enforcing the old law while waiting for the trigger law to take effect 30 days after the Supreme Court decision, as written in the trigger law legislation. The judge ruled Roe repealed the old law by implication, even though the state legislature never addressed it.

Texas judge grants temporary restraining order to block a pre-Roe v. Wade abortion ban in the state, signaling a small victory for abortion rights groups. https://t.co/Lf7iPjqWGw

— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) June 28, 2022

As a result, Texas Alliance for Life attorney Paul Linton said the ruling didn’t have merit for a plausible argument. He noted a higher state court would likely overturn Weems’ ruling. Still, the court won’t release the official judgment for at least 25 days, meaning abortion groups could resume operations temporarily until the new trigger ban goes into effect.