Misplaced Pages

#787212

152-484: The Texas Heartbeat Act , Senate Bill 8 (SB 8), is an act of the Texas Legislature that bans abortion after the detection of embryonic or fetal cardiac activity , which normally occurs after about six weeks of pregnancy. The law took effect on September 1, 2021, after the U.S. Supreme Court denied a request for emergency relief from Texas abortion providers. It was the first time a state has successfully imposed

304-432: A "fetal heartbeat" (or "cardiac activity") before performing an abortion and prohibits abortion if a "fetal heartbeat" is detected. The only exception is for when "a physician believes a medical emergency exists that prevents compliance." The term "medical emergency" is not defined in the statute. Section 3 includes a provision that specifically bans public enforcement of the law by state or local officials, and insists that

456-405: A central state apparatus designed to manage state institutions more efficiently. These changes helped Texas universities receive federal research funds. Beginning around the mid-20th century, Texas began to transform from a rural and agricultural state to one urban and industrialized. The state's population grew quickly during this period, with large levels of migration from outside the state. As

608-528: A day later in the Texas House of Representatives. Unlike HB 1500, SB 8 and HB 1515 contained a novel enforcement mechanism designed to shield the law from pre-enforcement judicial review. Each of the bills explicitly forbade state officials to enforce the law in any way, and instead authorized private individuals to sue those who perform or assist abortions after cardiac activity had been detected for $ 10,000 per abortion, plus costs and attorneys' fees. In structuring

760-512: A duty of care to this patient, as I do for all patients, and because she has a fundamental right to receive this care." He acknowledged that he would be opening himself up to liability from civil lawsuits related to the Act. On September 20, 2021, Oscar Stilley, a former lawyer in Arkansas, filed a lawsuit against Braid for providing the abortion. Stilley told reporters that he did it in an effort to speed up

912-409: A four-year statute of limitations. This subjects abortion providers and their enablers to future liability for abortions performed in reliance on Roe and Casey if those decisions are later overruled, and it deterred them from providing abortions even while Roe and Casey remained on the books. Finally, section 3 allows civil-enforcement lawsuits to be filed in the plaintiff's home county, raising

1064-568: A frontier territory. The state became notorious as a haven for people from other parts of the country who wanted to escape debt, war tensions, or other problems. "Gone to Texas" was a common expression for those fleeing the law in other states. Nevertheless, the state also attracted many businessmen and other settlers with more legitimate interests. The cattle industry continued to thrive, though it gradually became less profitable. Cotton and lumber became major industries creating new economic booms in various regions. Railroad networks grew rapidly as did

1216-674: A lawsuit and accompanying request for a restraining order in Dallas Texas District Court attempting to block the bill, arguing that the language of the law prevents attorneys from consulting with clients about abortion, even in cases of rape and incest, and is thus a violation of attorney-client privilege and victims rights of the sexually abused. This action was nonsuited and refiled in Travis County (Austin, Texas), where it remains pending, along with numerous companion cases by abortion providers and funders, who are all represented by

1368-514: A major destination for migration during the early 21st century and was named the most popular state to move for three consecutive years. Another study in 2019 determined Texas's growth rate at 1,000 people per day. During the COVID-19 pandemic in Texas , the first confirmed case of the virus in Texas was announced on March 4, 2020. On April 27, 2020, Governor Greg Abbott announced phase one of re-opening

1520-488: A motions panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the idea that state judges and their court clerks could be sued in federal court to prevent them from hearing SB 8 cases, characterizing the approach as absurd. An analysis by Johns Hopkins along with a study by JAMA Pediatrics published in 2024 suggests SB 8 is associated with an increase in infant mortality and newborn deaths. A Dallas attorney filed

1672-529: A part of the Sun Belt , Texas experienced strong economic growth, particularly during the 1970s and early 1980s. Texas's economy diversified, lessening its reliance on the petroleum industry . By 1990, Hispanics and Latino Americans overtook Blacks to become the largest minority group. Texas has the largest Black population with over 3.9 million. During the late 20th century, the Republican Party replaced

SECTION 10

#1732852158788

1824-504: A post-heartbeat abortion while an injunction that blocks the law's enforcement is in effect, if that injunction is later vacated or reversed on appeal. On October 6, 2021, federal district Judge Robert L. Pitman issued a preliminary injunction that blocked the state of Texas from enforcing the law, which remained in effect until the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a stay of Pitman's order two days later. Yet Pitman's order

1976-505: A private individual and assert their constitutional claims as a defense to liability in those private civil-enforcement proceedings. The private civil-enforcement feature of the law was engineered by former Stanford law professor Jonathan F. Mitchell . The idea was based on his 2018 Virginia Law Review article, "The Writ-of-Erasure Fallacy", which noted that laws enforced solely by private citizens are nearly impossible to challenge in pre-enforcement lawsuits. He later brought this idea to

2128-636: A prohibition on abortions after roughly six weeks, and then essentially delegated enforcement of that prohibition to the populace at large. The desired consequence appears to be to insulate the state from responsibility for implementing and enforcing the regulatory regime." A study produced by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin predicted that the bill would prohibit 80% of abortions in Texas and would disproportionately affect black women, lower-income women, and women who live far away from facilities that provide abortion services. The Texas Heartbeat Act

2280-546: A six-week abortion ban since Roe v. Wade , and the first abortion restriction to rely solely on enforcement by private individuals through civil lawsuits , rather than having state officials enforce the law with criminal or civil penalties. The act authorizes members of the public to sue anyone who performs or facilitates an illegal abortion for a minimum of $ 10,000 in statutory damages per abortion, plus court costs and attorneys' fees. The Texas Heartbeat Act has been subjected to numerous lawsuits in state and federal court, but

2432-538: A state has successfully outlawed abortion as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, even for a brief period of time. In Texas, an estimated 85% of abortions had been performed after the six-week mark, which is often shortly after a pregnant woman misses her menstrual period , and before many women have confirmed or are aware of a pregnancy. The Texas Heartbeat Act is unique in that it is enforced exclusively through civil lawsuits brought by private citizens, rather than criminal or civil penalties imposed by state officials. This

2584-613: A supply state was marginalized in mid-1863 after the Union capture of the Mississippi River . The final battle of the Civil War was fought at Palmito Ranch , near Brownsville, Texas, and saw a Confederate victory. Texas descended into anarchy for two months between the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia and the assumption of authority by Union General Gordon Granger . Violence marked

2736-435: A third of Colorado , and small portions of Kansas , Oklahoma , and Wyoming to the federal government, in return for the assumption of $ 10 million of the old republic's debt. Post-war Texas grew rapidly as migrants poured into the cotton lands of the state. They also brought or purchased enslaved African Americans, whose numbers tripled in the state from 1850 to 1860, from 58,000 to 182,566. Texas re-entered war following

2888-535: A trial on the merits. Texas Right to Life and its legislative director immediately appealed the denial of their motion to dismiss, which resulted in a stay of further proceedings in the trial court pending resolution of the interlocutory appeal. On May 26, 2023 the Court of Appeals, Third District upheld the District Court's denial of a motion to dismiss under Texas' anti-SLAPP act, leaving the case alive. The case style for

3040-708: Is also used to refer to an International treaty that establishes an institution , such as the Statute of the European Central Bank , a protocol to the international courts as well, such as the Statute of the International Court of Justice and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court . Statute is also another word for law. The term was adapted from England in about the 18th century. In

3192-416: Is how to organize published statutes. Such publications have a habit of starting small but growing rapidly over time, as new statutes are enacted in response to the exigencies of the moment. Eventually, persons trying to find the law are forced to sort through an enormous number of statutes enacted at various points in time to determine which portions are still in effect. The solution adopted in many countries

SECTION 20

#1732852158788

3344-513: Is intensely controversial because it was written to frustrate judicial review and thwart the judiciary from enforcing Supreme Court precedents that declared abortion to be a constitutionally protected right. That the Act succeeded in eliminating access to pre-viability abortions in Texas while Roe v. Wade ostensibly remained the law of the land has only added to the controversy surrounding the law. Law professors that supported Roe v. Wade , such as Laurence Tribe and Michael C. Dorf , have criticized

3496-461: Is the second-largest U.S. state by area, after Alaska , and the largest state within the contiguous United States , at 268,820 square miles (696,200 km ). If it were an independent country, Texas would be the 39th-largest . It ranks 26th worldwide amongst country subdivisions by size . Texas is in the south central part of the United States. The Rio Grande forms a natural border with

3648-713: Is the most populous state in the South Central region of the United States . It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the west, and an international border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua , Coahuila , Nuevo León , and Tamaulipas to the south and southwest. Texas has a coastline on the Gulf of Mexico to the southeast. Covering 268,596 square miles (695,660 km ), and with over 30 million residents as of 2023, it

3800-515: Is the second-largest state by both area and population . Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State for its former status as an independent republic . Spain was the first European country to claim and control Texas. Following a short-lived colony controlled by France, Mexico controlled the land until 1836 when Texas won its independence, becoming the Republic of Texas . In 1845, Texas joined

3952-473: Is to organize existing statutory law in topical arrangements (or "codified" ) within publications called codes , then ensure that new statutes are consistently drafted so that they add, amend, repeal or move various code sections. In turn, in theory, the code will thenceforth reflect the current cumulative state of the statutory law in that jurisdiction. In many nations statutory law is distinguished from and subordinate to constitutional law . The term statute

4104-509: Is unetymological, contrary to the historical value of the letter x ( / ʃ / ) in Spanish orthography . Alternative etymologies of the name advanced in the late 19th century connected the name Texas with the Spanish word teja , meaning 'roof tile', the plural tejas being used to designate Indigenous Pueblo settlements. A 1760s map by Jacques-Nicolas Bellin shows a village named Teijas on

4256-429: Is unsuccessful. Section 4 also imposes joint and several liability on the attorneys and law firms that sue to enjoin the enforcement of any Texas abortion law. At midnight, immediately after the law went into effect, many clinics in Texas including Planned Parenthood stopped performing abortion procedures and stopped taking new appointments. Many clinics reported an increase in patients at their clinics who had completed

4408-468: The Ex parte Young doctrine. In late August 2021, district judge Robert L. Pitman rejected a motion to dismiss the case and scheduled a hearing on the temporary injunction requested by the plaintiffs. An expedited appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit led that court to stay the district court's proceedings , on the basis that the state official defendants were likely immune from being sued while

4560-632: The Aranama , lived in southern Texas. This entire culture group, primarily centered in northeastern Mexico , is now extinct. No culture was dominant across all of present-day Texas, and many peoples inhabited the area. Native American tribes who have lived inside the boundaries of present-day Texas include the Alabama , Apache , Atakapan , Bidai , Caddo , Aranama , Comanche , Choctaw , Coushatta , Hasinai , Jumano , Karankawa , Kickapoo , Kiowa , Tonkawa , and Wichita . Many of these peoples migrated from

4712-577: The Battle of Gonzales . This launched the Texas Revolution . Texians elected delegates to the Consultation , which created a provisional government. The provisional government soon collapsed from infighting, and Texas was without clear governance for the first two months of 1836. Mexican President Antonio López de Santa Anna personally led an army to end the revolt. General José de Urrea defeated all

Texas Heartbeat Act - Misplaced Pages Continue

4864-637: The Democratic Party as the dominant party in the state. Beginning in the early 21st century, metropolitan areas including Dallas–Fort Worth and Greater Austin became centers for the Texas Democratic Party in statewide and national elections as liberal policies became more accepted in urban areas. From the mid-2000s to 2019, Texas gained an influx of business relocations and regional headquarters from companies in California . Texas became

5016-502: The Fourteenth Amendment , is preempted by federal law, and violates the doctrine of intergovernmental immunity ". The DOJ asked for an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction of SB8 on September 15, 2021. In its defense, Texas challenged the standing of the federal government to seek remedies against private individuals and sought dismissal of their case. District judge Robert L. Pitman, who

5168-508: The Gulf of Mexico . The resulting " oil boom " transformed Texas. Oil production averaged three million barrels per day at its peak in 1972. In 1901, the Democratic-dominated state legislature passed a bill requiring payment of a poll tax for voting, which effectively disenfranchised most Black and many poor White and Latino people. In addition, the legislature established white primaries , ensuring minorities were excluded from

5320-715: The Mississippian culture , also known as Mound Builders , which extended along the Mississippi River Valley east of Texas; and the civilizations of Mesoamerica , which were centered south of Texas. Influence of Teotihuacan in northern Mexico peaked around AD 500 and declined between the 8th and 10th centuries. When Europeans arrived in the Texas region, the language families present in the state were Caddoan, Atakapan , Athabaskan, Coahuiltecan , and Uto-Aztecan, in addition to several language isolates such as Tonkawa . Uto-Aztecan Puebloan and Jumano peoples lived neared

5472-611: The Old Three Hundred , made places along the Brazos River in 1822. The population of Texas grew rapidly. In 1825, Texas had about 3,500 people, with most of Mexican descent. By 1834, the population had grown to about 37,800 people, with only 7,800 of Mexican descent. Many immigrants openly flouted Mexican law, especially the prohibition against slavery . Combined with United States' attempts to purchase Texas, Mexican authorities decided in 1830 to prohibit continued immigration from

5624-553: The Pacific Ocean . Their opponents, led by Sam Houston, advocated the annexation of Texas to the United States and peaceful co-existence with Native Americans. The conflict between the factions was typified by an incident known as the Texas Archive War . With wide popular support, Texas first applied for annexation to the United States in 1836, but its status as a slaveholding country caused its admission to be controversial and it

5776-534: The Saint Malo settlement assisting Jean Lafitte in the Battle of New Orleans . In 1821, the Mexican War of Independence included the Texas territory, which became part of Mexico. Due to its low population, the territory was assigned to other states and territories of Mexico ; the core territory was part of the state of Coahuila y Tejas , but other parts of today's Texas were part of Tamaulipas , Chihuahua , or

5928-665: The Trinity River , close to the site of modern Crockett . Texas lies between two major cultural spheres of Pre-Columbian North America : the Southwestern and the Plains areas. Archaeologists have found that three major Indigenous cultures lived in this territory, and reached their developmental peak before the first European contact. These were: the Ancestral Puebloans from the upper Rio Grande region, centered west of Texas;

6080-460: The autonomous communities of Spain , an autonomy statute is a legal document similar to the constitution of a federated state , save that it is enacted by the national legislature, rather than the autonomous community it governs. The autonomy statutes in Spain have the rank of ley orgánica (organic law), a category of special legislation reserved only for the main institutions and issues and mentioned in

6232-553: The election of 1860 . During this time, Black people comprised 30 percent of the state's population, and they were overwhelmingly enslaved. When Abraham Lincoln was elected, South Carolina seceded from the Union; five other Deep South states quickly followed. A state convention considering secession opened in Austin on January 28, 1861. On February 1, by a vote of 166–8, the convention adopted an Ordinance of Secession . Texas voters approved this Ordinance on February 23, 1861. Texas joined

Texas Heartbeat Act - Misplaced Pages Continue

6384-672: The federalists against the government and drove all Mexican soldiers out of East Texas. They took advantage of the lack of oversight to agitate for more political freedom. Texians met at the Convention of 1832 to discuss requesting independent statehood, among other issues. The following year, Texians reiterated their demands at the Convention of 1833 . Within Mexico, tensions continued between federalists and centralists. In early 1835, wary Texians formed Committees of Correspondence and Safety. The unrest erupted into armed conflict in late 1835 at

6536-540: The prevalent internet meme , as well as profuse non-pertinent and misleading information. On September 3, 2021, webhost GoDaddy gave the website 24 hours to find a new host before terminating their service for multiple terms-of-service violations. On September 4, the website changed its domain registration to Epik , a registrar and web hosting company known for providing services to websites which have been denied service for content policy violations by other providers. The site went offline later that day, after Epik told

6688-489: The writ of certiorari as improvidently granted . No. 21-588,  United States, Petitioner v. Texas, et al., docketed October 14, 2021 in conjunction with consideration of application (21A85) to vacate Fifth Circuit stay presented to Justice Alito and by him referred to the Court is deferred pending oral argument on November 1, 2021. No. 21A85, United States, Petitioner v. Texas, et al., Application to vacate stay of preliminary injunction issued by U.S. Court of Appeals for

6840-403: The 14 cases. With one exception, the 14 suits against Texas Right to Life originally also named state officials as defendants, including Governor Abbott and numerous GOP legislators, but these state officials were later nonsuited. On December 9, 2021, Judge Peeples granted some of the declaratory relief requested by the plaintiffs but did not grant a permanent injunction, leaving that issue for

6992-525: The 150 members of the Texas House of Representatives . HB 1500, like HB 59, relied on conventional public enforcement by state officials, similar to laws that had been enacted in other states. HB 1500 did not pass. On March 11, 2021, the Texas Heartbeat Bill (Senate Bill 8 or SB 8 for short) was introduced by Senator Bryan Hughes . A companion bill (HB 1515) was filed by Representative Shelby Slawson

7144-527: The 24-hour waiting period and sought to have the procedure done before the midnight deadline. The act contains exceptions in the case of medical emergency, such as if the mother is at risk of death or severe irreversible bodily harm. It makes no exceptions for rape or incest. Because enforcement of the law relies upon civil reporting, there are provisions that state no "perpetrator of an act of rape, sexual assault, incest, or any other act prohibited by Sections 22.011, 22.021, or 25.02, Penal Code" may be involved in

7296-502: The Act and its enforcement mechanism as "cynical" and "diabolical". Opponents of abortion have praised the Act's circumvention of Roe v. Wade as "brilliant", and "genius". Legal experts have noted that the act's enforcement model is not entirely new as it bears similarities to existing private attorney general laws. These laws grant special circumstances in which the plaintiff, a private citizen, can bring suit despite not suffering direct injury. Many of these involve qui tam suits where

7448-493: The Act declares that Texas has never repealed, either expressly or by implication, its pre– Roe v. Wade statutes that outlaw and criminalize abortion unless the mother's life is in danger. The Texas pre- Roe abortion laws are still codified at articles 4512.1 through 4512.6 of the Revised Civil Statutes, and they impose felony criminal liability on anyone who performs an elective abortion, as well as anyone who "furnishes

7600-441: The Act is best known for its provisions that outlaw abortion after cardiac activity has been detected, and that authorize private lawsuits against those who violate the Act, the Act includes other provisions that further restrict abortion and deter litigants from challenging abortion laws in court. It is regarded as one of the most aggressive and far-reaching pieces of anti-abortion legislation that has ever been enacted. Section 2 of

7752-485: The Act's enforcement mechanism "makes it very difficult, procedurally, to challenge the bill's constitutionality in court", but argued that abortion providers "should" still be able to challenge the law's constitutionality by suing state-court judges and court clerks. The Supreme Court rejected this idea in Whole Woman's Health v. Jackson , holding that abortion providers could not sue state-court judges or court clerks under

SECTION 50

#1732852158788

7904-671: The Caddo meant that few were converted. Positioned between French Louisiana and Spanish Texas, the Caddo maintained relations with both, but were closer with the French. After Spain took control of Louisiana, most of the missions in eastern Texas were closed and abandoned. The United States obtained Louisiana following the 1803 Louisiana Purchase and began convincing tribes to self-segregate from whites by moving west; facing an overflow of native peoples in Missouri and Arkansas, they were able to negotiate with

8056-564: The Caddo of Louisiana and Arkansas. Following the Texas Revolution, the Texans chose to make peace with the Indigenous people, but did not honor former land claims or agreements. The first president of Texas, Sam Houston , aimed to cooperate and make peace with Native tribes, but his successor, Mirabeau B. Lamar , took a much more hostile stance. Hostility towards Natives by white Texans prompted

8208-558: The Caddo to allow several displaced peoples to settle on unused lands in eastern Texas. These included the Muscogee , Houma Choctaw , Lenape and Mingo Seneca , among others, who came to view the Caddoans as saviors. The temperament of Native American tribes affected the fates of European explorers and settlers in that land. Friendly tribes taught newcomers how to grow local crops, prepare foods, and hunt wild game . Warlike tribes resisted

8360-520: The Caddo, with the U.S. government trying to keep them in check. The Caddo never turned to violence because of the situation, except in cases of self-defense. By the 1830s, the U.S. had drafted the Indian Removal Act, which was used to facilitate the Trail of Tears. Fearing retribution, Indian Agents all over the eastern U.S. tried to convince all Indigenous peoples to uproot and move west. This included

8512-466: The Caddo. After Caddo resistance, the Spanish missionaries returned to Mexico. When France began settling Louisiana , in 1716 Spanish authorities responded by founding a new series of missions in East Texas. Two years later, they created San Antonio as the first Spanish civilian settlement in the area. Hostile native tribes and distance from nearby Spanish colonies discouraged settlers from moving to

8664-458: The Civil War and the restoration of its representation in the federal government, Texas entered a long period of economic stagnation. Historically, five major industries shaped the Texas economy prior to World War II : cattle, bison, cotton, timber, and oil. Before and after the Civil War, the cattle industry—which Texas came to dominate—was a major economic driver and created the traditional image of

8816-585: The Confederacy, Houston was deposed. While far from the major battlefields of the American Civil War , Texas contributed large numbers of soldiers and equipment. Union troops briefly occupied the state's primary port, Galveston. Texas's border with Mexico was known as the "backdoor of the Confederacy" because trade occurred at the border, bypassing the Union blockade. The Confederacy repulsed all Union attempts to shut down this route, but Texas's role as

8968-641: The Convention disbanded. The new government joined the other settlers in Texas in the Runaway Scrape , fleeing from the approaching Mexican army. After several weeks of retreat, the Texian Army commanded by Sam Houston attacked and defeated López de Santa Anna's forces at the Battle of San Jacinto . López de Santa Anna was captured and forced to sign the Treaties of Velasco , ending the war. The Constitution of

9120-533: The DOJ had not yet acted on any of Tribe's suggestions. The private remedies authorized by SB 8 can only be awarded by a state court in a lawsuit brought under SB 8, which is why Whole Women's Health and a group of abortion providers sued a Texas judge under Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act to enjoin him and a defendant class of all other Texas trial-level judges from entertaining SB 8 lawsuits. On September 10, 2021,

9272-413: The Fifth Circuit by the United States. Submitted to Justice Alito and referred to the Court. Consideration deferred pending oral argument on November 1, 2021. On September 18, 2021, in an op-ed published by The Washington Post , San Antonio physician Alan Braid admitted that he had performed an abortion that was illegal under the Act on September 6. He stated that he performed the abortion "because I had

SECTION 60

#1732852158788

9424-565: The Fifth Circuit that will hear oral argument in the WWH v. Jackson appeal. The DOJ filed an application for emergency relief from the Supreme Court on October 18, 2021. On October 22, 2021, the SCOTUS declined to grant the DOJ's emergency request to lift the Fifth Circuit's stay, but did grant the petition for certiorari before judgment and set expedited oral arguments for November 1, 2021. In certifying

9576-490: The Heartbeat Act, in addition to other state officials include attorney general Ken Paxton , and a private individual that had publicly stated their intent to file suit against an abortion provider once SB 8 came into effect. The abortion clinics challenged the sovereign immunity portion of the law, stating that because the judges and clerks are involved with enforcement of SB 8, they can be defendants to legal challenges due to

9728-471: The MDL cases is Van Stean v. Texas Right to Life, Cause No. D-1-GN-21-004179 in Travis County district court. The anti-abortion organization Texas Right to Life established a "whistleblower reporting system" that enabled residents to anonymously report suspected violators of the bill. Their website came under denial-of-service and satirical attacks featuring copypastas and eroticized fan-art of Shrek based on

9880-514: The Mexican Territory of Santa Fe de Nuevo México . Hoping more settlers would reduce the near-constant Comanche raids, Mexican Texas liberalized its immigration policies to permit immigrants from outside Mexico and Spain. Large swathes of land were allotted to empresarios , who recruited settlers from the United States, Europe, and the Mexican interior, primarily the U.S. Austin's settlers,

10032-426: The Mexican states of Chihuahua , Coahuila , Nuevo León , and Tamaulipas to the south. The Red River forms a natural border with Oklahoma and Arkansas to the north. The Sabine River forms a natural border with Louisiana to the east. The Texas Panhandle has an eastern border with Oklahoma at 100° W , a northern border with Oklahoma at 36°30' N and a western border with New Mexico at 103° W . El Paso lies on

10184-476: The Northern United States or California and to escape segregation. In 1940, Texas was 74% White , 14.4% Black, and 11.5% Hispanic. World War II had a dramatic impact on Texas, as federal money poured in to build military bases, munitions factories, detention camps and Army hospitals; 750,000 Texans left for service; the cities exploded with new industry; and hundreds of thousands of poor farmers left

10336-601: The Philippines'), or as provincia de los Tejas ('province of the Tejas '), later also provincia de Texas (or de Tejas ), ('province of Texas'). It was incorporated as provincia de Texas into the Mexican Empire in 1821, and declared a republic in 1836. The Royal Spanish Academy recognizes both spellings, Tejas and Texas , as Spanish-language forms of the name. The English pronunciation with /ks/

10488-514: The Republic of Texas prohibited the government from restricting slavery or freeing slaves, and required free people of African descent to leave the country. Political battles raged between two factions of the new Republic. The nationalist faction, led by Mirabeau B. Lamar , advocated the continued independence of Texas, the expulsion of the Native Americans , and the expansion of the Republic to

10640-719: The Rio Grande in the western portion of the state and the Athabaskan-speaking Apache tribes lived throughout the interior. The agricultural, mound-building Caddo controlled much of the northeastern part of the state, along the Red , Sabine , and Neches River basins. Atakapan peoples such as the Akokisa and Bidai lived along the northeastern Gulf Coast; the Karankawa lived along the central coast. At least one tribe of Coahuiltecans ,

10792-406: The Rio Grande on January 13, 1846. A few months later Mexican troops routed an American cavalry patrol in the disputed area in the Thornton Affair starting the Mexican–American War . The first battles of the war were fought in Texas: the Siege of Fort Texas , Battle of Palo Alto and Battle of Resaca de la Palma . After these decisive victories, the United States invaded Mexican territory, ending

10944-465: The Texas Heartbeat Act, and recommended that the U.S. Attorney General launch criminal prosecutions and sue private parties under the Act on the grounds of deprivation of rights under color of law . The two also cited the precedent of Larkin v. Grendel's Den, Inc. , as an argument against the constitutionality of delegating certain government decisions to private parties. At the time of writing,

11096-481: The Texas Heartbeat Act, is enforced solely through civil lawsuits brought by private citizens, abortion providers were unable to stop the law in court and ceased performing abortions in Oklahoma, even though the Supreme Court had not yet overruled Roe v. Wade when the statute took effect. Idaho has also enacted a six-week abortion ban modeled after the Texas Heartbeat Act, which prevented abortion providers from challenging

11248-399: The Texas cowboy. In the later 19th century, cotton and lumber grew to be major industries as the cattle industry became less lucrative. Ultimately, the discovery of major petroleum deposits ( Spindletop in particular) initiated an economic boom that became the driving force behind the economy for much of the 20th century. Texas developed a diversified economy and high tech industry during

11400-495: The Texas government would be barred from participating in the suit. The other would be the intent of the law; up until Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization was decided, the right to abortion was considered to be protected by the Constitution . While environmental pollution lawsuits seek to aid the government in dealing with cases of the law being broken, SB8 was an unprecedented instance of private individuals being granted

11552-587: The Texian resistance along the coast culminating in the Goliad massacre . López de Santa Anna's forces, after a thirteen-day siege , overwhelmed Texian defenders at the Battle of the Alamo . News of the defeats sparked panic among Texas settlers. The newly elected Texian delegates to the Convention of 1836 quickly signed a declaration of independence on March 2, forming the Republic of Texas . After electing interim officers,

11704-597: The U.S. After Texas's annexation, Mexico broke diplomatic relations with the United States. While the United States claimed Texas's border stretched to the Rio Grande, Mexico claimed it was the Nueces River leaving the Rio Grande Valley under contested Texan sovereignty. While the former Republic of Texas could not enforce its border claims, the United States had the military strength and the political will to do so. President Polk ordered General Zachary Taylor south to

11856-521: The United States of America as the 28th state. The state's annexation set off a chain of events that led to the Mexican–American War in 1846. Following victory by the United States, Texas remained a slave state until the American Civil War , when it declared its secession from the Union in early 1861 before officially joining the Confederate States of America on March   2. After

12008-444: The United States. However, illegal immigration from the United States into Mexico continued to increase the population of Texas. New laws also called for the enforcement of customs duties angering native Mexican citizens ( Tejanos ) and recent immigrants alike. The Anahuac Disturbances in 1832 were the first open revolt against Mexican rule, coinciding with a revolt in Mexico against the nation's president. Texians sided with

12160-545: The abortion procedure. It also ensures that all abortions performed in Texas—including abortions that occur before cardiac activity is detectable—are defined and regarded as criminal acts under Texas law, even though prosecutors in Texas cannot indict or charge abortion providers for their violations of these statutes until Roe v. Wade is overruled. The enactment of section 2 has led Texas officials to threaten abortion funds and their donors with criminal prosecution under

12312-514: The agreement. Several filibusters raised armies to invade the area west of the Sabine River. Marked by the War of 1812 , some men who had escaped from the Spanish, held (Old) Philippines had immigrated to and also passed through Texas (New Philippines) and reached Louisiana where Philippine exiles aided the United States in the defense of New Orleans against a British invasion, with Filipinos in

12464-561: The area. It was one of New Spain's least populated provinces. In 1749, the Spanish peace treaty with the Lipan Apache angered many tribes, including the Comanche, Tonkawa, and Hasinai. The Comanche signed a treaty with Spain in 1785 and later helped to defeat the Lipan Apache and Karankawa tribes. With numerous missions being established, priests led a peaceful conversion of most tribes. By

12616-453: The attention of Mark Lee Dickson , an East Texas anti-abortion pastor, in 2019. Dickson was able to persuade the city council of Waskom, Texas , to enact an ordinance that outlawed abortion within city limits through the private civil-enforcement mechanism proposed by Mitchell, although it was mostly a symbolic move as the town had no abortion providers. Dickson then championed for similar laws to be passed in other towns and cities in Texas over

12768-433: The case against the private individual remained in consideration. The plaintiffs filed an emergency application with the Supreme Court on August 30, 2021, seeking an order to block the Act from going into effect. Late on September 1, 2021, nearly 24 hours after the Act had come into force, the Supreme Court denied the motion in an unsigned order , though four Justices wrote or joined dissents that stated they would have granted

12920-426: The case, and scheduled its oral arguments alongside United States v. Texas for November 1, 2021. The Supreme Court issued its decision on December 10, 2021, and dismissed the claims that Texas abortion providers had brought against a state-court judge, a court clerk, the state's attorney general, and a private citizen. The Court allowed the abortion providers' claims against state licensing officials to proceed beyond

13072-445: The case, the Supreme Court limited the case to review the question of the standing raised by the state. The oral arguments for United States v. Texas will be heard alongside those for WWH v. Jackson . Justice Sotomayor concurred in the decision to hear the case on an expedited basis, but dissented on the denial of an immediate stay order in the interim. The Supreme Court ruled in a per curiam decision on December 10, 2021, to dismiss

13224-508: The colony of Fort Saint Louis at Matagorda Bay rather than along the Mississippi River . The colony lasted only four years before succumbing to harsh conditions and hostile natives. A small band of survivors traveled eastward into the lands of the Caddo, but La Salle was killed by disgruntled expedition members. In 1690 Spanish authorities, concerned that France posed a competitive threat, constructed several missions in East Texas among

13376-529: The constitution (the highest ranking legal instrument in Spain). Leyes orgánicas rank between the constitution and ordinary laws. The name was chosen, among others, to avoid confusion with the term constitution (i.e. the Spanish constitution of 1978). Texas Texas ( / ˈ t ɛ k s ə s / TEK -səss , locally also / ˈ t ɛ k s ɪ z / TEK -siz ; Spanish : Texas or Tejas , pronounced [ˈtexas] )

13528-467: The constitutionality of the statute in federal court. A different six-week abortion ban, HB 59, was previously introduced in Texas by Representative Phil King on July 18, 2013. The bill did not pass. In 2019, another six-week abortion ban was introduced as HB 1500, which was jointly authored by Representatives Briscoe Cain , Phil King, the late Dan Flynn , Tan Parker , and Rick Miller . As of February 26, 2019, HB 1500 had 57 sponsors or cosponsors of

13680-415: The defendant performed or facilitated, in addition to court costs and attorney's fees if a defendant is found liable. Plaintiffs who bring these enforcement lawsuits are not required to have any personal connection to the patient or abortion provider. Section 3 of the Act also insulates the state of Texas and its officials from being sued by preserving their sovereign immunity and forbidding them to enforce

13832-600: The desert and mountains of the Big Bend . The name Texas , based on the Caddo word táy:shaʼ ( /tə́jːʃaʔ/ ) 'friend', was applied, in the spelling Tejas or Texas , by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves, specifically the Hasinai Confederacy. During Spanish colonial rule , in the 18th century, the area was known as Nuevas Filipinas (' New Philippines ') and Nuevo Reino de Filipinas ('New Kingdom of

13984-534: The doctrine of sovereign immunity. Other legal scholars, such as Harvard's Stephen Sachs , Yale's Akhil Reed Amar , and Edward Whelan of the Ethics and Public Policy Center , have argued that SB8's unique design precludes abortion providers from challenging the constitutionality of the statute in pre-enforcement litigation. Tribe has suggested ways for the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat

14136-529: The early months of Reconstruction . Juneteenth commemorates the announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Galveston by General Gordon Granger, almost two and a half years after the original announcement. President Johnson, in 1866, declared the civilian government restored in Texas. Despite not meeting Reconstruction requirements, Congress resumed allowing elected Texas representatives into

14288-583: The east, seeking a route to Mexico. They passed through the Caddo lands but turned back after reaching the River of Daycao (possibly the Brazos or Colorado), beyond which point the Native peoples were nomadic and did not have the agricultural stores to feed the expedition. European powers ignored the area until accidentally settling there in 1685. Miscalculations by René-Robert Cavelier de La Salle resulted in his establishing

14440-474: The economy. Amid a rise in COVID-19 cases in autumn 2020, Abbott refused to enact further lockdowns. In November 2020, Texas was selected as one of four states to test Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine distribution. As of February 2, 2021, there had been over 2.4 million confirmed cases in Texas, with at least 37,417 deaths. During February 13–17, 2021, the state faced a major weather emergency as Winter Storm Uri hit

14592-532: The effects of the Texas Heartbeat Act. In an op-ed published by The Washington Post on September 5, 2021, Tribe urged DOJ to prosecute any individual who sues an abortion provider under sections 241 or 242 of the federal criminal code , which make it a crime to deprive individuals of any constitutional rights. Tribe and Risenberg also suggested using a "civil parallel of the Ku Klux Klan Act " of 1871 to deter individuals from suing abortion providers who violate

14744-454: The emergency motion". On October 14, 2021, the motions panel granted the State's and the three aligned Intervenors' motions for emergency stay in a brief order that merely referenced the decision rationales articulated by the SCOTUS and the Fifth Circuit in the pending WWH v. Jackson case. They also ordered that the appeal on the merits be jointly taken up on an accelerated basis by the same panel of

14896-470: The end of the 18th century only a few nomadic tribes had not converted. When the United States purchased Louisiana from France in 1803, American authorities insisted the agreement also included Texas. The boundary between New Spain and the United States was finally set in 1819 at the Sabine River , the modern border between Texas and Louisiana. Eager for new land, many U.S. settlers refused to recognize

15048-507: The federal case brought by the DOJ against Texas. Legal experts expect SB 8 lawsuits brought by pro-abortion rights plaintiffs to fail for lack of a controversy and thus standing. Texas abortion providers, funders, and other pro-abortion plaintiffs filed a total of 14 other lawsuits, some before the Act's September 1, 2021, effectiveness date, against Texas Right to Life and the organization's officers, employees, and collaborators, challenging S.B.8 as unconstitutional under various provisions of

15200-612: The federal government for their opposition to U.S. involvement in World War I . The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl dealt a double blow to the state's economy, which had significantly improved since the Civil War. Migrants abandoned the worst-hit sections of Texas during the Dust Bowl years. Especially from this period on, Black people left Texas in the Great Migration to get work in

15352-498: The federal government in 1870. Social volatility continued as the state struggled with agricultural depression and labor issues. Like most of the South, the Texas economy was devastated by the War. However, since the state had not been as dependent on slaves as other parts of the South, it was able to recover more quickly. The culture in Texas during the later 19th century exhibited many facets of

15504-406: The fields for much better-paying war jobs, never to return to agriculture. Texas manufactured 3.1 percent of total United States military armaments produced during World War II, ranking eleventh among the 48 states. Texas modernized and expanded its system of higher education through the 1960s. The state created a comprehensive plan for higher education, funded in large part by oil revenues, and

15656-589: The fighting in Texas. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the two-year war. In return for US$ 18,250,000, Mexico gave the U.S. undisputed control of Texas, ceded the Mexican Cession in 1848, most of which today is called the American Southwest, and Texas's borders were established at the Rio Grande. The Compromise of 1850 set Texas's boundaries at their present position: Texas ceded its claims to land which later became half of present-day New Mexico ,

15808-493: The first Europeans in what is now Texas. Cabeza de Vaca reported that in 1528, when the Spanish landed in the area, "half the natives died from a disease of the bowels and blamed us." Cabeza de Vaca also made observations about the way of life of the Ignaces Natives of Texas. Francisco Vázquez de Coronado described another encounter with native people in 1541. The expedition of Hernando de Soto entered into Texas from

15960-405: The following years, including Lubbock , where a Planned Parenthood facility halted abortion procedures following passage of the local law. Mitchell helped Hughes draft the bill for the state based on the municipal ordinances he had written as a means of avoiding pre-enforcement judicial scrutiny, primarily by taking state officials out of enforcing the abortion ban and leaving enforcement entirely in

16112-569: The formal political process. The number of voters dropped dramatically, and the Democrats crushed competition from the Republican and Populist parties. The Socialist Party became the second-largest party in Texas after 1912, coinciding with a large socialist upsurge in the United States during fierce battles in the labor movement and the popularity of national heroes like Eugene V. Debs . The socialists' popularity soon waned after their vilification by

16264-550: The government. However, this enforcement model, if utilized in similar ways to how SB8 implements it, could be used to limit other rights and freedoms that the people enjoy including like the right to bear arms , free speech , and gay marriage . For example, in an op-ed piece for The Hill in September 2021, Alan Dershowitz , emeritus professor of law at Harvard, suggested that liberal states could enact laws offering similar bounties for citizen lawsuits against anyone who facilitates

16416-487: The group they had violated their terms of service by collecting private information about third parties; the website subsequently began redirecting users to the Texas Right to Life organization's website. Statute The word "statute" is derived from the late Latin word "statutum", which means 'law', 'decree'. In virtually all countries, newly enacted statutes are published and distributed so that everyone can look up

16568-487: The hands of private individuals. The bill was a legislative priority of Republican lawmakers for the 2021 regular session, denoted 87(R). The Senate version was approved by both houses of the bicameral Texas legislature after the Senate concurred with House amendments. Texas governor Greg Abbott signed the bill on May 19, 2021, and it took effect on September 1, 2021. The Texas Heartbeat Act contains twelve sections. Although

16720-412: The injunction pending legal evaluation. The majority opinion on the motion stressed that the denial of immediate relief did not preclude other legal challenges in lower federal or Texas state courts. The Fifth Circuit issued a second order on September 10, 2021, ruling that the state judges, clerks, and other officials were not proper defendants, while the case against the private individual remained and

16872-438: The law and instead authorizes private individuals to sue anyone who performs or assists a post-heartbeat abortion. Because the law is enforced by private citizens rather than government officials, abortion providers have been unable to obtain relief that will stop private lawsuits from being initiated against them. This produced an end-run around Roe v. Wade , which had established a federal constitutional right to abortion, because

17024-400: The law remains in effect. Before the new law went into effect, a group of abortion providers led by Whole Woman's Health (WWH) sued to get a preliminary injunction to stay enforcement of the law on September 1, 2021. Their suit included a state district court judge and his court clerk as representative defendants for all state judges and clerks that have jurisdiction to hear suits brought under

17176-443: The law this way, the authors sought to shield it from judicial review in federal court, because lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of a state statute must be brought against state officials charged with enforcing the disputed law, rather than against the state itself. And without a state official who enforces the law, there is no one for abortion providers to sue pre-enforcement; they must instead wait to be sued in state court by

17328-404: The law, ending the abortion providers' federal pre-enforcement challenge to SB 8. The state supreme court's ruling, along with the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Whole Woman's Health v. Jackson , leaves abortion providers without any possible defendants to sue in a federal pre-enforcement lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of SB 8, because there are no state officials charged with enforcing

17480-704: The law. United States Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on September 6, 2021, that the Justice Department (DOJ) will protect abortion seekers in Texas under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act . The DOJ filed their suit against the state on September 9, 2021 in the District Court for the Western District of Texas , with the suit claiming "the law is invalid under the Supremacy Clause and

17632-540: The means for procuring an abortion knowing the purpose intended". The punishment is two to five years' imprisonment for each abortion performed or facilitated, and the statute of limitations is three years. By declaring that the state's pre- Roe criminal abortion have never been repealed, section 2 overrules McCorvey v. Hill , a 2004 decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which held that Texas had implicitly repealed its pre- Roe criminal abortion statutes by enacting subsequent legislation that regulates

17784-500: The mid-20th century. As of 2022 , it has the most Fortune 500 company headquarters (53) in the United States. With a growing base of industry, the state leads in many industries, including tourism , agriculture , petrochemicals , energy , computers and electronics , aerospace , and biomedical sciences . Texas has led the U.S. in state export revenue since 2002 and has the second-highest gross state product . The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and Greater Houston areas are

17936-462: The motion-to-dismiss stage, and remanded the case back to the Fifth Circuit. On remand, the Fifth Circuit asked the Supreme Court of Texas to resolve whether SB 8 allowed state licensing officials to enforce the law, and certified the case proceed to the state supreme court. In March, 2022, the Supreme Court of Texas unanimously ruled that SB 8 explicitly forbids state licensing officials to enforce

18088-683: The movement of most Native populations north into what would become Indian Territory (modern Oklahoma). Only the Alabama-Coushatta would remain in the parts of Texas subject to white settlement, though the Comanche would continue to control most of the western half of the state until their defeat in the 1870s and 1880s. The first historical document related to Texas was a map of the Gulf Coast , created in 1519 by Spanish explorer Alonso Álvarez de Pineda . Nine years later, shipwrecked Spanish explorer Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and his cohort became

18240-558: The nation's fourth and fifth-most populous urban regions respectively. Its capital city is Austin . Due to its size and geologic features such as the Balcones Fault , Texas contains diverse landscapes common to both the U.S. Southern and the Southwestern regions . Most population centers are in areas of former prairies , grasslands , forests, and the coastline . Traveling from east to west, terrain ranges from coastal swamps and piney woods , to rolling plains and rugged hills, to

18392-537: The newly created Confederate States of America on March 4, 1861, ratifying the permanent C.S. Constitution on March 23. Not all Texans favored secession initially, although many of the same would later support the Southern cause. Texas's most notable Unionist was the state governor, Sam Houston . Not wanting to aggravate the situation, Houston refused two offers from President Lincoln for Union troops to keep him in office. After refusing to swear an oath of allegiance to

18544-562: The north or east during the colonial period, such as the Choctaw , Alabama-Coushatta, and Delaware . The region was primarily controlled by the Spanish until the Texas Revolution . They were most interested in relationships with the Caddo, who were—like the Spanish—a settled, agricultural people. Several Spanish missions were opened in Caddo territory, but a lack of interest in Christianity among

18696-466: The one hand, there is no one to sue because no state official is allowed to enforce the law, while on the other hand, there are too many people to sue because they can’t identify who among the millions of Texas pro-lifers will step forward to enforce the law." In light of this feature in the law, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that "the statutory scheme before the court is not only unusual, but unprecedented. The legislature has imposed

18848-399: The physician performing the procedure. That includes staff members at clinics, counselors, lawyers, financiers, and those who provide transportation to an abortion clinic, including drivers of a taxi or ride-hailing companies. The act encourages private enforcement by authorizing successful plaintiffs to collect "statutory damages" of "not less than $ 10,000" for each post-heartbeat abortion that

19000-457: The plaintiff brings suit on behalf or in support of the government and is allowed to benefit if the suit succeeds. For example, several environmental pollution laws allow for individuals to bring suit against companies or individuals who have broken government environmental statutes; the False Claims Act allows for individuals to sue if there is evidence that the defendant has tried to defraud

19152-485: The port at Galveston as commerce expanded. The lumber industry quickly expanded and was Texas' largest industry prior to the 20th century. In 1900, Texas suffered the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history during the Galveston hurricane . On January 10, 1901, the first major oil well in Texas, Spindletop , was found south of Beaumont . Other fields were later discovered nearby in East Texas , West Texas , and under

19304-472: The process of getting the law reviewed. Another lawsuit by Felipe Gomez of Chicago was filed against Braid the same day. Gomez argues for the law to be declared unconstitutional as the law is illegal until Roe v. Wade is reversed or modified. Both lawsuits were commenced in San Antonio in the defendant's county. One is in forma pauperis . Both plaintiffs are not averse to publicity. Both have also intervened in

19456-413: The prospect that anyone who violates or assists a violation of SB 8 could be forced to defend themselves in any one of Texas's 254 counties, including deep-red counties where judges and juries will likely be hostile to abortion. Section 4 of the Act requires litigants who challenge the constitutionality of any Texas abortion restriction to pay the attorneys' fees of "prevailing parties" if their challenge

19608-432: The purpose intended," and that every single one their employees, volunteers, and donors could face criminal prosecution for violating the state's pre- Roe laws. Cain pointed out that neither Roe v. Wade nor any other decision of the Supreme Court has ever created or recognized a constitutional right to pay for another person's abortion, and that Roe protects only abortion providers and their patients from prosecution under

19760-402: The reporting process. On September 7, 2021, Governor Abbott asserted that the Act does not force raped women to carry pregnancies to term because the state would "work tirelessly to make sure that we eliminate all rapists from the streets of Texas by aggressively going out and arresting them and prosecuting them and getting them off the streets". The act is the first time since Roe v. Wade that

19912-589: The right to deprive another individual of a (then) federally protected right. This led one commentator to note that "Rather than a "private attorney general" statute, it is a private vigilante law". Academic opinion is divided on whether the Act can be subject to pre-enforcement judicial review given that no state officials are charged with enforcing the law and are, in fact, prohibited from enforcing it. In an op-ed published in The New York Times , law professors Laurence Tribe and Steve Vladeck acknowledged that

20064-668: The sale or ownership of handguns. Supreme Court justices Brett Kavanaugh and Elena Kagan expressed these concerns while hearing arguments in United States v. Texas . Some analysts have argued that as wrong as SB8's utilization of private citizen enforcement is, the enforcement model itself still holds merit. They draw a distinction between the ways in which the model is utilized and the intent. In qui tam cases, private individuals bring suit alongside and in support of government officials and these suits are still under government supervision while in SB8,

20216-427: The same attorneys. On September 3, 2021, a Travis County judge granted three Texas Planned Parenthood affiliates a temporary restraining order against Texas Right to Life, with a temporary injunction hearing set for September 13. The ruling temporarily blocks the anti-abortion group and affiliated individuals from suing them under the Act. Another trial court judge later signed an agreed temporary injunction order in

20368-584: The same case. On December 9, 2021, a retired judge, sitting by appointment of the Texas Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation, ruled that portions of the statute's civil enforcement mechanism violate the Texas Constitution, but did not grant a permanent injunction enjoining the law's enforcement. As of 2022, the case is on interlocutory appeal in the Third Court of Appeals in Austin, Texas, and

20520-429: The settlers. Prior treaties with the Spanish forbade either side from militarizing its native population in any potential conflict between the two nations. Several outbreaks of violence between Native Americans and Texans started to spread in the prelude to the Texas Revolution. Texans accused tribes of stealing livestock. While no proof was found, those in charge of Texas at the time attempted to publicly blame and punish

20672-410: The sole means of enforcement shall take place through civil-enforcement lawsuits brought by private individuals. Section 3 also authorizes any private individual to sue anyone who performs or induces, or "aids and abets," a post-heartbeat abortion. Although the statute shields abortion patients from being named as defendants, anyone else who "aids or abets" an unlawful abortion can be sued in addition to

20824-538: The state constitution. The plaintiffs relied on the Texas Declaratory Judgments Act and sought declaratory and injunctive relief. The separate actions were subsequently consolidated for pretrial proceedings by the Texas Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation (MDL Panel) and remain pending in a Travis County district court. The MDL Panel assigned the Hon. David Peeples, a senior-status judge, to preside over

20976-402: The state's pre- Roe abortion statutes. On March 18, 2022, Representative Briscoe Cain sent cease-and-desist letters to every abortion fund in Texas, demanding that they immediately stop paying for elective abortions performed in Texas. Cain warned that these abortion funds were violating the state's unrepealed pre- Roe abortion statutes by "furnishing the means for procuring an abortion knowing

21128-418: The state's pre- Roe criminal abortion prohibitions. Abortion funds in Texas have refused to halt their activities in response to Cain's letter, and Cain has promised to introduce legislation that will ensure that Texas abortion funds and their donors are prosecuted for each abortion that they have assisted in violation of the state's pre- Roe abortion laws. Section 3 of the Act requires a physician to test for

21280-568: The state, as well as most of the Southeastern and Midwestern United States. Historically high power usage across the state caused the state's power grid to become overworked and ERCOT (the main operator of the Texas Interconnection grid) declared an emergency and began to implement rolling blackouts across Texas, causing a power crisis . Over 3 million Texans were without power and over 4 million were under boil-water notices. Texas

21432-466: The states to evade Roe v. Wade and other Supreme Court rulings that had declared abortion to be a constitutionally protected right. It also led other states to copy SB 8's enforcement mechanism and immunize their restrictive abortion laws from judicial review. On May 25, 2022, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed HB 4327 into law, which outlaws abortion from the moment of fertilization. Because HB 4237, like

21584-560: The statute has thus far withstood each of these court challenges and remains in effect. Lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the Act have been filed by abortion providers and advocates, as well as the United States Department of Justice, but none of these lawsuits have been able to restore access to post-heartbeat abortions in Texas. The law has been exceedingly difficult to challenge in court because of its unique enforcement mechanism, which bars state officials from enforcing

21736-431: The statute in any way. The Act allows defendants to escape liability if they demonstrate that the relief sought by the plaintiff will impose an "undue burden" on women seeking abortions. But the Act also provides that this "undue burden" defense is unavailable if the Supreme Court overrules Roe v. Wade or Planned Parenthood v. Casey , even if the abortion occurred while those decisions were in effect, and it establishes

21888-408: The statutory law. This can be done in the form of a government gazette which may include other kinds of legal notices released by the government, or in the form of a series of books whose content is limited to legislative acts. In either form, statutes are traditionally published in chronological order based on date of enactment. A universal problem encountered by lawmakers throughout human history

22040-473: The terms of SB 8. This has made it difficult for abortion providers to resume services even when they obtain relief from a lower court that pronounces the statute unconstitutional, and it has further frustrated efforts to thwart the statute's enforcement in court. The success of the Texas Heartbeat Act was a major blow to Roe v. Wade , as it provided a blueprint for states to outlaw abortion while insulating their laws from effective judicial review . This enabled

22192-409: The threat of private civil-enforcement lawsuits forced abortion providers to comply with SB 8 despite its incompatibility with the Supreme Court's then-existing abortion pronouncements. Even when courts have declared SB 8 unconstitutional, abortion providers have remained in compliance with the Act because it purports to subject individuals to private civil-enforcement lawsuits if they perform or assist

22344-417: Was also overseeing the WWH v. Jackson case, issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcing of the Act on October 6, 2021, ruling that the United States government does have standing to challenge Texas' law. Texas appealed to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on October 8, 2021, and in a per curiam decision that day, the Fifth Circuit put a hold on Pitman's order, "pending the court's consideration of

22496-456: Was captured twice and Texans were defeated in battle in the Dawson massacre . Despite these successes, Mexico did not keep an occupying force in Texas, and the republic survived. The cotton price crash of the 1840s depressed the country's economy. Texas was finally annexed when the expansionist James K. Polk won the election of 1844 . On December 29, 1845, the U.S. Congress admitted Texas to

22648-513: Was engineered to deny abortion providers the opportunity to seek federal-court injunctions against the enforcement of the statute. Since the law cannot be enforced by state officials but only by private individuals, it is difficult for abortion providers to identify the proper defendants to sue in a pre-enforcement lawsuit, which prevents them from challenging the constitutionality of the act prior to its taking effect. As one commentator explained: "Abortion clinics are now in an impossible bind because on

22800-525: Was initially rebuffed. This status, and Mexican diplomacy in support of its claims to the territory, also complicated Texas's ability to form foreign alliances and trade relationships. The Comanche Indians furnished the main Native American opposition to the Texas Republic, manifested in multiple raids on settlements . Mexico launched two small expeditions into Texas in 1842. The town of San Antonio

22952-451: Was to be evaluated by the Circuit court at a later date. Again, the plaintiffs filed a petition for a pre-judgment writ of certiorari at the Supreme Court based on the Fifth Circuit's order, again seeking an injunction on the enforcement of SB 8. The Supreme Court, in its related actions to United States v. Texas , denied the plaintiff's motions in WWH v. Jackson , but certified the petition for

23104-512: Was unable to fully restore access to post-heartbeat abortions in Texas, even during the 48-hour window in which it was in effect, because abortion providers were unwilling to risk the civil liability that would be imposed if Pitman's injunction were stayed or overturned by a higher court. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to overturn the Fifth Circuit's stay of Pitman's ruling, so any post-heartbeat abortions performed in reliance on Pitman's injunction are subject to private civil-enforcement lawsuits under

#787212