Within hours after a judge blocked the Texas heartbeat law, at least one abortion business began killing unborn babies again.
Whole Woman’s Health bragged on Twitter about starting abortions again Thursday, claiming it is doing so “out of compassion for our patients.”
“We were able to provide abortions today to people who had already complied with Texas’ 24 hour-waiting period. We’ve reached out to people on the waiting list we had to turn away in September. In this climate, every single abortion we can provide is a win,” the abortion chain wrote on Twitter.
A federal judge blocked enforcement of the pro-life law late Wednesday in response to a lawsuit from the Biden administration. The law prohibits abortions once an unborn baby’s heartbeat is detectable, about six weeks of pregnancy.
Amy Hagstrom Miller, the leader of Whole Woman’s Health, said she breathed a sigh of relief when the judge, an appointee of pro-abortion President Barack Obama, blocked the law Wednesday night, Axios reports.
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“Our clinic staff has been bending over backward to help as many of our patients as we can,” she said. “This is the justice we have been seeking for weeks and we are grateful that the court has finally stepped in to curb some of the suffering Texans have faced under this cruel ban.”
Contrary to what Hagstrom Miller claimed, the pro-life law has stopped suffering. Pro-life leaders estimate the law saved 3,000 babies from violent abortion deaths during the 36 days it was in effect and has the potential to save tens of thousands more.
These include second-trimester unborn babies who are nearly fully formed and typically are killed in brutal dismemberment abortions. Hagstrom Miller told the Texas Tribune that her abortion chain plans to start doing abortions up to 18 weeks “as soon as possible.”
However, other abortion businesses in Texas may be more hesitant to start aborting unborn babies again. As the Tribune pointed out:
The ruling late Wednesday from U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman doesn’t protect providers who perform those services during the legal pause on enforcement while the law makes its way through the higher courts. The case is now before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.
… [T]he law is constructed in such a way that people who violate it, even while it is being temporarily blocked, could be liable to litigation if the law’s enforcement were to be reinstated and any existing suits could continue. The lawsuits can be filed up to four years after the procedure.
The Texas Attorney General’s Office is appealing the judge’s ruling, and pro-life leaders expect a fair hearing at the Fifth Circuit.
“Texas Right to Life is dedicated to holding the abortion industry accountable to the fullest extent possible under the law. We are confident that the Texas Heartbeat Act will ultimately withstand this legal challenge and succeed where other states’ heartbeat bills have not,” the pro-life organization said in a statement Thursday.
Pitman’s ruling came roughly one month after the pro-life law went into effect on Sept. 1. Earlier, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to block its enforcement, leaving the law in place while litigation against it continues in lower courts.
In 2020, about 54,000 unborn babies were aborted in Texas, and about 85 percent happened after six weeks of pregnancy, according to state health statistics. That means the new Texas law was saving as many as 100 babies’ lives every single day.
While abortion activists say some women are traveling to other states for abortions, they admit that others are having their babies instead. Meanwhile, pro-life advocates are reaching out to pregnant women across Texas with compassion and understanding, offering resources and emotional support to help them and their babies. Earlier this year, state lawmakers increased support for pregnant and parenting mothers and babies, ensuring that they have resources to choose life for their babies.
About a dozen states have passed heartbeat laws to protect unborn babies from abortion, but Texas is the first to be allowed to enforce its law. Whether the law will remain in effect or ultimately be upheld as constitutional in court remains uncertain, but pro-life leaders are hopeful now that the Supreme Court has a conservative majority.
