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US Supreme Court Might Expedite Abortion Provider Challenge of TX Heartbeat Law

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The Supreme Court will hear arguments to expedite a legal challenge to Texas' groundbreaking pro-life heartbeat law.  

The justices told a group of abortion providers and advocates who made the request to submit their arguments by Thursday. If the court does agree to speed up the process, it could deliver a ruling much sooner than if the case had to make its way through the court system.

Monday's move came just hours after the Biden administration asked the high court to halt Texas' Senate Bill 8. The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit in federal court asking a judge to declare the law invalid.

The Texas law outlaws abortions after detection of a fetal heartbeat, making most abortions illegal in that state.

It allows average citizens to bring a lawsuit against someone they think helped facilitate an abortion. Since private individuals are enforcing the law instead of the state, it cannot be held responsible for the filings of those private citizens.  

The abortion providers' lawsuit focuses on the burden brought forth by the legislation, while the Justice Department centers more on suing the state government.

"The act is clearly unconstitutional under long-standing Supreme Court precedent," Attorney General Merrick Garland argued at a recent news conference announcing the suit. The DOJ is also concerned other states could enact similar laws that Garland said would "deprive their citizens of their constitutional rights."

But Kim Schwartz, communications director for Texas Right to Life, doesn't expect either lawsuit to succeed.

"We are confident Texas will ultimately defeat these attacks on our life-saving efforts," said Kim Schwartz, communications director with Texas Right to Life.

Statistics show there could be as many as 3,000 abortions in the U.S. each day. And while this heartbeat bill is expected to trim that number in Texas, it's also reminding the country about life inside the womb.  

Meanwhile, pro-life experts believe SB 8 will save 150 babies from being killed each day. 

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About The Author

Andrea Morris
Andrea
Morris

Andrea Morris is a Features Producer for The 700 Club. She came to CBN in 2019 where she worked as a web producer in the news department for three years. Her passion was always to tell human interest stories that would touch the hearts of readers while connecting them with God. She transitioned into her new role with The 700 Club in August 2022.