SHOWDOWN: DOJ Sues Texas Over New Abortion Ban

In a move that is sure to be celebrated by progressives, the Department of Justice announced today that it is suing Texas over the state’s new abortion ban.

We reported on Monday that Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a statement where he vowed to “protect the constitutional rights of women and other persons” in Texas to have an abortion.

In the lawsuit, the DOJ claims that the abortion ban, which prevents women from having an abortion after six weeks, injures the United States by depriving women in Texas of their Constitutional Rights while seeking to prevent them from vindicating those rights in Federal Court,

The law prohibits at least 85% of abortions that were previously lawful in the state, the lawsuit also claims.

The lawsuit was filed with the U.S. Division Court for the Western District of Texas Austin Division and initially seeks an injunction against the bill.

Garland said the ban “is clearly unconstitutional under longstanding Supreme Court precedent” at a news conference to announce the lawsuit.

U.S. House Rep Adam Smith (D-WA) celebrated the news and said in a tweet, “I’m glad the @TheJusticeDept is suing Texas for their unconstitutional abortion ban.”

“But we can’t stop there, we must also pass @RepJudyChu‘s Women’s Health Protection Act to guarantee every person’s reproductive freedom throughout the United States,” Smith added.

I'm glad the @TheJusticeDept is suing Texas for their unconstitutional abortion ban.

But we can't stop there, we must also pass @RepJudyChu's Women's Health Protection Act to guarantee every person's reproductive freedom throughout the United States.https://t.co/oKQ9TbFyDJ

— Rep. Adam Smith (@RepAdamSmith) September 9, 2021

The Supreme Court has already voted 5-4 not to block the bill, however, so it is unclear how far they will get with this lawsuit, even if they get a victory in the lower court.

On Tuesday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott defended the law, insisting it doesn’t force victims of rape to give birth and vowing to “eliminate all rapists.”