The United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit decided on Monday in a 2-1 ruling that it would be better for the Texas Supreme Court to judge on the challenge placed against the Texas Heartbeat Act, thereby allowing the said law to remain in effect.
The Christian Post explained that former President Ronald Reagan's appointee Circuit Judge Edith Jones wrote the majority opinion of the panel on the Texas Heartbeat Act, which more commonly called Senate Bill 8 or SB8. Jones reasoned that allowing the Texas Supreme Court to come up with a final decision on the matter avoids "friction" within the "federal system."
"The federal courts are bound by an authoritative determination of state law by the state's highest court. Here, there is a possibility that federal courts could declare S.B. 8 constitutionally infirm even though our conclusions might be based entirely on a faulty understanding of Texas law," Jones said.
"To avert creating needless friction with a coequal sovereign in our federal system, this court reasonably seeks the Texas Supreme Court's final word on the matter," she added.
Accordingly, former President Barack Obama's appointee Circuit Judge Stephen Higginson was the only one who dissented because he believes that sending the lawsuit to the Texas Supreme Court to decide on it is contrary to a United States Supreme Court order.
"S. B. 8 and its defenders have challenged Supreme Court authority, first by deliberately nullifying a constitutional right expounded by the Court and now, when checked by that Court, by convincing us, an inferior federal court duty-bound to apply a Supreme Court holding, instead to question that holding," Higginson said.
SB8 bans abortions on pregnancies six weeks and beyond. Abortion providers in Texas led by Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit against it after Governor Greg Abbott signed the law, which was scheduled to be in effect on September 1. The United States Supreme Court did not respond to the emergency block petition of the abortion providers on the law such that it was implemented as scheduled.
This then caused a string of reactions mostly from the Biden Administration through a series of counter attacks such as pro-abortion law and lawsuits to ensure SB8 would not be implemented. The lawsuit filed in the Fifth Circuit is the last of the said federal lawsuits.
The Fifth Circuit's ruling comes after the United States Supreme Court dismissed last December the lawsuit filed by President Joe Biden against the Texas Heartbeat Act. The dismissal is a review of the October ruling released by the United Sates District Court for the Western District of Texas to block the implementation of the controversial law. The Supreme Court announced in November its acceptance to review arguments on the said October ruling.
Texas Right To Life released a statement celebrating and agreeing to the Fifth Circuit opinion, calling it "appropriate" and "favorable." Texas Right To Life considers SB8 as the "strongest pro-life bill to take effect since Roe v. Wade" and for the 87th Texas Legislature. The said law is complemented by an increased funding for the state's "Alternatives to Abortion" program.
"This is great news for Texas because such action is more likely to ensure a just and favorable ruling, compared to that which could be expected from a pro-abortion federal district judge, to whom the abortion industry asked to send the case. Beyond this, sending the lawsuit to the Supreme Court of Texas is appropriate because the only defendants left in the case are state agencies. Most exciting of all is that the Texas Heartbeat Act has withstood another court decision and is continuing to save an estimated 100 preborn lives every day!" Texas Right To Life said.
