WASHINGTON, DC — This morning, the Supreme Court of the United States delivered emphatic victories to AFL in two cases involving SB8, the Texas Heartbeat Act.
In the first decision, the Supreme Court rejected abortion providers’ attempt to immunize themselves from private civil lawsuits authorized by SB8. The Court held that judges, court clerks, and private citizens that enforce the Texas Heartbeat Act cannot be sued in federal court, which leaves abortion providers without any means of obtaining relief against the private civil-enforcement lawsuits authorized by the Texas Heartbeat Act. This not only means that the Texas Heartbeat Act will remain in effect, it also means that every state in America can now outlaw abortion by authorizing private civil-enforcement suits against abortion providers and their enablers.
The Supreme Court also dismissed the claims that abortion providers had brought against AFL’s client, Mark Lee Dickson.
In the second decision, the Supreme Court dismissed the Department of Justice’s emergency petition in its politically motivated lawsuit over the Texas Heartbeat Act. The Biden Administration had sued Texas in an attempt to enjoin every individual in the world from initiating private civil-enforcement suits under SB8, and to enjoin every judge and court clerk in Texas from considering or docketing these lawsuits. But the Supreme Court dismissed DOJ’s emergency petition as improvidently granted, with only Justice Sotomayor recording her dissent. AFL intervened in this case on behalf of pro-life Texans to defend the Texas Heartbeat Act against the Biden Administration’s baseless lawsuit.
This is the most significant victory for the pro-life movement since Roe v. Wade, and it is a resounding victory over the Biden Administration’s lawless and politicized Department of Justice. America First Legal remains committed to saving the lives of innocent children in America and fighting the Biden Administration’s executive overreach.
Statement From America First Legal Vice President and General Counsel Gene Hamilton:
“Today is a great day for the rule of law and the right to life. The Supreme Court rightly rebuffed the radical attempts by the Biden Administration’s Department of Justice to enjoin and prevent every Texan from exercising their rights under the Texas Heartbeat Act. The Court also dismissed a lawsuit brought against our client by pro-abortion activists. We are delighted with the outcome of these two decisions, and are proud of the heroic efforts of our co-counsel in these cases. We will continue our fights against illegal and overreaching actions by the Biden Administration and the radical left as they attempt to impose their extreme and lawless agenda on all Americans, ” Gene Hamilton said.
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