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Demonstration against the new abortion law in Texas
Photo: Bob Daemmrich / imago images / ZUMA Wire
In the struggle for the extremely rigid abortion law in the US state of Texas, women's rights activists have achieved a stage victory: the health organization Planned Parenthood obtained an injunction before a Texas court.
Planned Parenthood advocates sexual education, advises on family planning and also carries out abortions itself.
The court order is directed against an anti-abortion organization that wants to enforce the new law and restrict the powers of clinics.
This is reported by several US media.
The background is the so-called heartbeat law from Texas, which came into force on Wednesday.
It prohibits abortion once the fetus's heartbeat has been determined.
This can be the case as early as the sixth week of pregnancy.
Many women do not yet know that they are pregnant at this point.
There is only an exception for medical emergencies.
There is also outrage that it is not the Texan authorities that are supposed to enforce the new regulations, but private individuals.
Citizens are encouraged to sue anyone they suspect of assisting women with an abortion after the sixth week.
Bounty for successful private claimants
This could affect abortion clinics or their employees, but also relatives of pregnant women or a taxi driver who takes the woman to the clinic.
Plaintiffs, if convicted, are said to receive $ 10,000 - payable by the convicts.
Planned Parenthood reportedly sued Texas Right to Life on the grounds that their intentions would cause "immediate, irreparable harm" to Planned Parenthood clinics and workers.
"Texas Right to Life" has set up a website where people can be blackened.
The injunction now means that the organization cannot file lawsuits against Planned Parenthood until further notice.
Opposition to the activities of those who oppose abortion also comes from other quarters.
The Internet provider GoDaddy said that the operators of the website were informed on Thursday that they violated the terms of use.
The website was given 24 hours to look for another provider.
"Don't be afraid of the mob"
In its terms of use, GoDaddy prohibits collecting information about third parties without their consent.
According to its operators, the site prolifewhistleblower.com, applying the new abortion law in Texas, uses anonymous tips from users to "ensure that lawbreakers are held accountable for their actions."
She calls on everyone who "supports" an abortion after the expiry of the now valid six-week period to report.
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Critics of the anti-abortionists called on online networks to paralyze the website with nonsensical information.
On Friday, however, the online form for anonymous information could no longer be accessed.
The head of "Texas Right to Life", Kimberlyn Schwartz, told the AFP news agency that the website is currently moving to a different provider and is expected to be online again within 48 hours.
"We're not being silenced," Schwartz said.
"We're not afraid of the mob." Contrary to the announcement, the site was initially still inaccessible on Saturday morning.
Meanwhile, Lyft has announced that it will respond to the new law.
The regulation threatens the punishment of drivers, "the people go where they have to go," it says in a blog post by the company.
Lyft will set up a fund to cover possible penalties from their drivers 100 percent.
Uber boss Dara Khosroshahi praised Lyft's advance and announced that it would follow the example of the competitor.
him / dpa / AFP