Today, the US District Court for the Western District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction against S.B. 8 in a case brought by the US Department of Justice against the state of Texas. President & CEO of Physicians for Reproductive Health Dr. Jamila Perritt responds:
“We are relieved to hear this long awaited news that S.B. 8 has been temporarily blocked. People in Texas, like people across the country need access to timely reproductive health care, including abortion care.
“For over a month, people in Texas have been deliberately denied access to abortion care by the nefarious enforcement mechanism of S.B. 8, which tries to escape judicial review by deputizing individuals to enforce an unconstitutional ban on abortion beginning at 6 weeks in pregnancy.
“For over a month, Roe v. Wade has been effectively nullified in Texas as the U.S. Supreme Court allowed S.B. 8 to go into effect.
“For over a month, clinics and abortion funds have been doing everything they can to move people out of Texas for their care.
“For over a month, people who cannot travel have been deprived entirely of their constitutional right to access abortion care.
“This situation is unconscionable and unsustainable. As we heard last week from PRH Board Member Dr. Ghazaleh Moayedi when she testified before Congress: ‘The impact of this law is devastating. It is terrifying.’
“Courts must continue to block this unconstitutional ban on abortion. The health and well-being of millions of Texans depends on it.”
