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Where Things Stand: DOJ Takes Another Stab At Blocking Dangerous Texas Abortion Ban

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WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 05: U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announces a federal investigation of the City of Phoenix and the Phoenix Police Department during a news conference at the Department of Justice on Au... WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 05: U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announces a federal investigation of the City of Phoenix and the Phoenix Police Department during a news conference at the Department of Justice on August 05, 2021 in Washington, DC. Garland said the Justice Department has opened a pattern or practice investigation into the City of Phoenix and the Phoenix Police Department to determine if they have violated federal laws or citizens constitutional rights. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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October 18, 2021 6:15 p.m.

The Department of Justice asked the Supreme Court today to temporarily block the enforcement of the unprecedentedly dangerous and restrictive abortion ban in Texas, filing an emergency appeal with the high court on Monday to protect the rights of women, and people who can become pregnant, in the red state.

It’s the second attempt by the DOJ to legally challenge the abortion law, which not only bans abortions post six-weeks in Texas, but also was crafted to be uniquely difficult to challenge in court. It enlists private citizens, instead of state officials, to deal with its enforcement. It’s a Wild West law that offers a $10,000 bounty to members of the public who successfully bring lawsuits against abortion providers and/or anyone who might “aid or abet” in the process of getting an abortion post-six weeks, including someone as far in the periphery of the act as a cab driver who might drive a woman to a clinic.

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