click to enlarge Jaime Monzon
San Antonio protesters take to the streets during a recent march against Texas' abortion ban.
After a setback in a federal appeals court, the Biden administration will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to put the brakes on Texas' near-complete ban on abortion,
the Associated Press reports.
The move by the Biden Justice Department comes after a federal appeals panel in New Orleans issued a 2-1 decision letting the restrictions remain in place for a third time in recent weeks. A court ruling on the law's legality is still forthcoming from that court.
Justice Department spokesman Anthony Coley told the AP that the federal government will ask the Supreme Court to reverse that appeals court's ruling. However, he didn't say how soon it would do so.
The request to block the law would be the second requested from the high court. Last month, the conservative-dominated body allowed Texas' restrictive law to go into effect after abortion providers requested it to block the measure while its legality play out in court cases.
The Supreme Court didn't rule on the law's constitutionality at that time.
Texas women have been forced to seek abortion care in other states since the law went into effect at the beginning of September. Some have driven hours through the middle of the night, and some have been as young as 12, according to the AP report.
The law bans abortions at around six weeks, a time before most women are aware they're pregnant. What's more, it offers no exceptions in cases of rape or incest.
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