Twenty-four Democratic attorney generals on Wednesday filed an amicus brief in federal court in support of the Biden administration’s challenge to Texas’ heartbeat abortion law.
The brief, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, supports the Department of Justice’s request for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction of the law, which went into effect Sept. 1. and bans abortions in Texas after about six weeks of pregnancy.
“Today, virtually no one can obtain an abortion in Texas,” read the brief. “In order to obtain abortion care, patients now have to travel out-of-state, which makes abortion for many people too difficult, too time-intensive, and too costly.”
The officials said they were committed to “ensuring the safety of residents of out States who seek medical care in Texas while present as students, workers, or visitors.”
“We likewise have an interest in safeguarding the ability of clinicians in our States to provide abortion services in other States when they are licensed and otherwise qualified to do so,” they added.
“And we also have an interest in ensuring that each State abides by its constitutional obligation not to prohibit access to otherwise lawful and safe abortion care, because any substantial reduction in the availability of abortion services in one State can cause people to seek services in other States, thereby potentially burdening their health care systems and limiting access to care for their own residents,” which is already happening.
“In New Mexico, for example, an influx of patients from Texas has already strained provider resources and made it more difficult for New Mexico residents to receive timely care,” they said.
