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Texas abortion providers were granted a temporary restraining order against an anti-abortion group seeking to enforce the state's restrictive new law

Sarah Al-Arshani,Morgan Keith   

Texas abortion providers were granted a temporary restraining order against an anti-abortion group seeking to enforce the state's restrictive new law
  • On Wednesday, the Supreme Court refused to block Texas' new restrictive abortion law in a 5-4 ruling.
  • Abortion providers would have no legal remedy if subjected to private lawsuits under the new law.
  • 85-90% of Texans who obtain abortions are at least six weeks into pregnancy, according to Planned Parenthood.

Texas abortion providers including Planned Parenthood were granted a temporary restraining order against Texas Right to Life and its associates on Friday, Bloomberg Law reported.

The restraining order bans the anti-abortion group from suing abortion providers and health care workers under Texas' new restrictive abortion law, which the Supreme Court refused to block in a 5-4 ruling issued Wednesday.

In the filing asking for the restraining order, Planned Parenthood said the anti-abortion group's "threatened implementation of the six-week ban and its enforcement scheme, as well as S.B. 8's fee-shifting provision, would cause imminent, irreparable injury" to abortion providers.

Judge Maya Guerra Gamble of the Texas District Court for Travis County said the law created a "probable, irreparable, and imminent injury in the interim" to abortion providers, who would have no legal remedy if subjected to private enforcement lawsuits under the new law.

SB 8 or the Texas Heartbeat law, went into effect on Wednesday and banned abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which is usually around six weeks, well before many women know they are pregnant. The overwhelming majority of Texans - 85-90% - who obtain abortions are at least six weeks into pregnancy, according to a Planned Parenthood news release.

The law also allows private citizens to sue anyone who "aids or abets" an abortion. Those who win their case could win a minimum of $10,000 in addition to attorney fees.

Texas Right to Life set up a website in July that would allow people to anonymously provide tips about people obtaining abortions despite the law. The site has been spammed with fake tips.

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