The United States Department of Justice filed a lawsuit this judges against the state of Texas for its new law that bans practically all abortions in the state, with no exceptions for cases of incest or rape.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said the ban "
is clearly unconstitutional
under the old Supreme Court precedents," reported The Washington Post.
The new anti-abortion law, which took effect last week, prohibits the procedure starting at six weeks of pregnancy, when many people are still unaware of their pregnancy.
In addition, it allows individuals to sue anyone who assists in the procedure with the possibility of winning $ 10,000 if the trial is won.
[Eight keys to understanding why the Texas anti-abortion law and the Supreme Court decision are so controversial]
The Biden government's lawsuit against Texas, filed in a federal court in Austin, calls for the rule to be declared illegal,
its application blocked
and "the rights that Texas has violated be protected," Garland said at a press conference.
Groups gather to protest abortion restrictions at the State Capitol in Austin, Texas, Tuesday, May 21, 2019.
The new Texas law also does not provide exceptions in cases of incest or rape.
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Garland noted that the law is invalid under the Supremacy Clause and the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution, as well as federal laws, and violates the doctrine of intergovernmental immunity.
The US government has "an obligation to ensure that no state can deprive people of their constitutional rights," he explained.
Defend the right to abortion with federal forces
Attorney General Merrick Garland had anticipated earlier this week that the department was exploring "all options" to respond to the law.
Meanwhile, she claimed that the government plans to apply the Freedom of Access to Clinics Act (FACE), a 1994 federal rule that protects free access to clinics that perform abortions, and punishes women those who intentionally cause material damage to centers that offer reproductive services.
Garland noted that federal security forces will assist clinics that are "under attack."
Attorney General Merrick Garland announces a lawsuit to block enforcement of a new Texas law that bans most abortions.
However, that measure could be limited by the fact that the law is geared more towards physical acts of intimidation or violence than lawsuits, explained Mary Anne Franks, a constitutional scholar and professor at the University of California School of Law. Miami, to The Associated Press news agency.
[Texas' restrictive abortion law will hit Latina women hard, expert says]
"The nefarious cunning" of Texas law is that "nothing can be done until someone actually tries to use this law. And that would be too late," he said.
And even if an abortion clinic - or people who help a woman get an abortion - were successful in defending a lawsuit, that wouldn't block a pile of future complaints.
A Texas judge's decision last week to temporarily protect some abortion clinics from being sued by the state's largest anti-abortion group, for example, did not affect any other groups.
"That raises real questions about the efficacy of any action that the Justice Department can take," Franks told the AP.
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It is not clear what the Justice Department's lawsuit could consist of, although it is expected to be based on the argument that Texas law illegally interferes with federal government interests, according to the New York newspaper.
Legal experts cited by the newspaper warned that the way in which the law is designed, which places the burden of its implementation on private citizens seeking rewards and not on Texas authorities, could reduce the federal government's options to win. litigation, because it is not clear who should be sued.
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The same experts pointed out that, if the Justice Department wants to boycott the law, it could try to restrict federal funds to Texas, or find out if there are federal government facilities in Texas where abortions can be performed, since they would escape state jurisdiction.
Jonathan Turley, a professor of constitutional law at George Washington University School of Law, believes the law is likely to eventually be overturned in court, as it prohibits abortion long before the fetus is viable outside the womb.
"It is very likely that it will be declared unconstitutional. The drafters themselves understood that they have established a line far below the existing jurisprudence to prohibit abortions, It is likely that the courts will do a quick job with the law of Texas", to the agency of AP news.
Last week, hours after the Texas law came into effect, the United States Supreme Court, with a reinforced conservative majority, decided not to block the legislation, although it did not assess whether it was constitutional or not.
With information from The Washington Post and NBC News.