Judge finds abortion ban violates state constitution

A Texas judge on Thursday ruled that parts of the state’s new abortion ban violate the state constitution, but stopped short of declaring an injunction against its enforcement.

The ruling, by state District Judge David Peeples, is the first opinion issued on the law’s legality in state courts, where it is designed to be enforced. It was not immediately clear if the ruling, which is certain to be appealed, would lead to any change in abortion access.

Abortions in Texas have been effectively banned after about six weeks of pregnancy since Sept. 1, when the law took effect.

In a three-page ruling,

Peeples said the law’s enforcement design, which relies upon private citizens to sue those who they believe violated the law in civil court, is unconstitutional under Texas law. Specifically, it violates the defendants’ right to due process, he wrote, as well as unfairly grants standing to litigants even if they weren’t directly harmed by the procedure.

Under the law, those who successfully sue under the law can earn at least $10,000, while defendants are barred from collecting attorney fees even if they prove that the claim was frivolous.

Peeples, a Republican-appointed judge, heard arguments on the consolidated cases in early November. At the time, he raised concerns that the novel enforcement approach could be used in the future to “take out other businesses we don’t like.”

The ruling comes as a decision is still pending from the U.S. Supreme Court on the federal merits of the law. Abortion providers and the Biden administration have both sued, saying the law violates nearly 50 years of precedent that protects the right to abortion until a fetus is viable, usually at around 23 weeks of pregnancy.

The high court could rule on those cases at any time. Meanwhile, a decision on a separate Mississippi case in which the justices could overturn some or all of that five decades of precedent, is expected next year.