WASHINGTON – Yesterday, in another major victory, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an order dismissing all challenges to the Texas Heartbeat Act’s private-enforcement provision. This ensures that the Texas Heartbeat Act will remain in effect, as abortion providers are left without any means to enjoin the statute’s enforcement on a statewide basis. 

The ruling from the Fifth Circuit follows the Supreme Court of Texas’s unanimous decision that state officials lack the authority to enforce the Texas Heartbeat Act. And it follows a decision from the Supreme Court of the United States in December that rejected abortion providers’ attempt to immunize themselves from private civil lawsuits authorized by SB8. 

The Texas Heartbeat Act has survived every court challenge it has faced in state and federal court, and America First Legal (AFL) has successfully defended the legality of the Act at every step. We will not stop fighting to protect the rights of all Americans—both born and unborn. 

Read the decision here.