Garland criticized this aspect of the law and said that bounty hunters could enforce the law for a minimum $10,000 payment in the event of a successful suit. Garland also warned that Texas's law could be used as a model for other states and for those who seek to subvert other constitutional rights. He did not specify.
The attorney general said that if it is successful, it could be used as a model in other areas of action in other states.
POLITICO and other outlets reported Wednesday the Department of Justice was planning to sue Texas for the new law. This has angered Democrats as well as supporters of abortion rights in the wake of the Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling that refused an emergency stay against this statute. . The lawsuit was filed in Austin's federal court on Thursday afternoon. Judge Lee Yeakel was appointed by President George W. Bush. The Justice Department seeks an injunction to stop enforcement of Texas law. It claims that the law irreparably damages the federal government.
Joe Biden was under intense pressure to act on Texas' abortion restrictions. He also had to react to the early attempts in conservative-leaning states to create similar laws. Biden denounced the law calling it un-American, and blatantly violating the Roe v. Wade precedent. Similar arguments are made in the complaint, which claims that Texas legislators enacted this statute openly against the Constitution.
It is not difficult to see Texas' goal to make it too dangerous for abortion clinics to be allowed to operate in Texas. This would prevent women from exercising their constitutional rights and also thwart judicial review.
Thursday's announcement fulfilled Bidens promise that he would take on Texas to try to stop the implementation of the abortion law. This will set up a high-stakes battle with Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton are both Republicans who are up for reelection next spring and have pledged to defend the law.
The attorney general tweeted that the Biden Administration has sued everyone in Texas today. Biden should be focusing on the Afghanistan border crisis, Afghanistan, and the economy, rather than meddling with sovereign rights of states. I will fight for your life with every resource available.
Garland stated that Texas law, in violation of U.S. Constitution, interfered with the work of many federal agencies, including the Departments of Labor, Heath and Human Services and Defense.
Abbott was criticized earlier this week for not answering a reporter's question about the reason the law doesn't allow for exceptions to the six week time limit for cases involving incest or rape, which is common with other abortion laws. Abbott said that the Texas goal was to eradicate rape, and that the law doesn't require victims to have that pregnancy to term.
It provides at least six weeks for an individual to have the right to obtain an abortion. Abbott stated Tuesday that it does not provide that. Texas will fight tirelessly to eliminate all rapists from Texas' streets. We will aggressively go out and arrest and prosecute them, as well as get them off the streets.
Jen Psaki, White House Press Secretary, dismissed Abbott's assertion Wednesday as absurd.
She stated that no leader in history has ever been able eliminate rape or eliminate rapists out of our streets.
Despite the White House's apparent desire to oppose the Texas law Garland maintained that the Justice Department hadn't responded to the pressure to file suit.
The Department of Justice doesn't file lawsuits based upon pressure, the attorney general stated, but did not elaborate on the role of the White House in the preparation of the suit. We carefully analyzed the facts and the law.
Although federal lawsuits to invalidate state laws may seem unusual, they are not uncommon. The Justice Department sued Arizona under President George W. Bush over a state law that sought to crackdown on undocumented immigrant. The Justice Department also sued California under President Donald Trump over state laws that affected immigration enforcement, private prisons, and federal land development.
The Justice Department referred to the new suit as a related one that was filed in July by both abortion providers and advocates for abortion rights over Texas law. The case will be presented to Judge Robert Pitman (appointee of President Barack Obama), but Texas lawyers could challenge the designation.
