Federal Appeals Court Dismisses Lawsuit Against Texas Abortion Ban

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Apr 26, 2022   |   4:33PM   |   Austin, Texas

Another lawsuit against the Texas abortion ban is going down in flames, allowing the Texas heartbeat law to continue saving babies from abortions.

After having ruled multiple times previously on other cases, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the federal district court to dismiss one of the more recent lawsuits from abortionists against the Heartbeat Law.

“Having received the ruling of the Texas Supreme Court that named officials defendants may not enforce the provisions o the Texas Heartbeat Act… this court REMANDS the case with instructions to dismiss all challenges to the private enforcement provisions of the statute and to consider whether plaintiffs have standing to challenge,” the ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said.

There are still multiple lawsuits outstanding attacking Texas Right to Life, the main pro-life group behind the law, 4 from abortion funds attacking private citizens and another from abortion superstar Wendy Davis attempting to derail the law.

Kim Schwartz of Teas Right to Life celebrated today’s victory in an email to LifeNews.

“The Fifth Circuit’s instruction to dismiss the challenge to the Texas Heartbeat Act’s enforcement mechanism confirms what Texas Right to Life has known since the beginning: the abortion industry’s legal attacks are meritless,” she said.

Today is the 238th day the Texas heartbeat law is saving babies from abortion and, although abortion supporters claimed women would die because of the ban, not one single woman has died because of it.

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In February, a new report from the Texas health department confirms the state’s new abortion ban is saving as many as 90 babies from abortions each and every day. With the Texas heartbeat law having been in effect since September 1, that means as many as 13,860 babies have been saved from abortions in Texas.

new report from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) confirms a substantial drop in abortions in September 2021 after implementation of the Texas Heartbeat Act. The state agency reported a total of 2,197 abortions in Texas after the ban took effect, compared to  an astonishing 5,404 abortions committed the month before.

The 2,197 abortions in September represents a 60% decrease in abortions. Before the Texas Heartbeat Act, there were more than 160 abortions committed each day in Texas. In September, this plummeted to around 70 each day.

Schwartz said she thinks the number of mothers who are reportedly headed to other states for abortions is overblown.

“Although some women may be traveling out of state to obtain abortion, those numbers are small and unconfirmed at this point,” she said.

While liberal media reports and abortion companies report high numbers of abortions on babies from mothers traveling out of state, Texas pregnancy centers also report record numbers of women deciding to choose life and parent their children, with their help and support.

Of the 2,197 abortions in September, only one is reported to have taken place between 17-20 weeks post-fertilization. HHSC verified this was a case where the life of the mother was in immediate danger. Notably, this was the only medically necessary abortion reported to have taken place in September.

Schwartz told LifeNews that pro-abortion critics of the Texas Heartbeat Act have been adamant that the new law will put women in danger, and that preventing them from receiving early abortions would require them to seek later abortions due to a medical emergency. The statistics don’t confirm that claim. On the other hand, some Pro-Life skeptics of the Texas Heartbeat Act asserted that abortionists would circumvent the law by carrying on business as usual and reporting everything as being a “medical emergency,” which is also not occurring.

“However, the actual data reveal both of these fears to be untrue. The fact that medically emergent abortions have not increased proves that they are not surging in necessity and that they are not being used as excuses,” the pro-life group explained. “Texas Right to Life will continue to track the abortion reporting data as they are released to see the long-term impact of the Texas Heartbeat Act. In the meantime, we celebrate the lives being spared as a direct result of this life-saving law.”

In December, the U.S. Supreme Court left only part of the abortion groups’ lawsuit in place and sent the case back to the Fifth Circuit for consideration. It also threw out a second lawsuit by President Joe Biden‘s administration.

Meanwhile, Texas also has been expanding support services for pregnant and parenting families. Along with passing the heartbeat law in 2021, state lawmakers also increased support for programs that serve pregnant and parenting mothers and babiesensuring that they have resources to choose life for their babies.

The heartbeat law has the potential to save tens of thousands of unborn babies from abortion every year. 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.