The Justice Department is taking a lead role in fighting Texas over the six-week, fetal heartbeat bill that would ban most abortions.
United States Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement that the Justice Department, while exploring potential challenges to the six-week fetal heartbeat bill known as SB8, would be enforcing a 1994 law called the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrance (FACE) Act.
“The FACE Act prohibits the use or threat of force and physical obstruction that injures, intimidates, or interferes with a person seeking to obtain or provide reproductive health services.” Garland said in his statement. “It also prohibits intentional property damage of a facility providing reproductive health services. The department has consistently obtained criminal and civil remedies for violations of the FACE Act since it was signed into law in 1994, and it will continue to do so now.”
The prohibition of intimidation seems to take aim at the provision in SB8 that allows private citizens to collect a $10,000 judgement for those who seek or aid in an abortion that is past the six week point of conception.
“The Texas law can certainly fall into that category of a law that uses intimidation to deny people their basic Constitutional rights.” said pro-choice attorney and former Florida legislator Barry Silver.
The new position by the Justice department was welcomed by Planned Parenthood.
“We welcome this announcement by the Department of Justice to help protect providers and health care centers in Texas, but we hope and expect that the administration also intends to use every other tool at its disposal to protect patients who have no access to abortion in Texas right now.” said Jacqueline Ayers, Vice President of Government Relations and Public Policy, Planned Parenthood Federation of America in a statement. “Texans are being denied their constitutional right to abortion after 6 weeks of pregnancy. The Department should continue to consider its authority under all relevant laws to restore access to abortion in Texas.
Planned Parenthood declined to answer questions.
The Texas Attorney General’s office, which is defending the State in suits over the law, has not responded to a request for comment.
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