The U.S. Justice Department is suing Texas over a controversial new law banning all abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
“The act is clearly unconstitutional under long-standing Supreme Court precedent,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland in a press conference announcing the suit on Sep. 9.
The Justice Department argues that the law infringes on the constitutional rights of women. The Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution states that federal law supersedes state law.
In addition to banning abortions past six weeks of pregnancy, without exception, the ban further bans abortions in cases where a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which can sometimes predate six weeks.
The law allows for private citizens to file lawsuits as an enforcement mechanism. Such lawsuits would entitle citizens to at least $10,000 in damages if victorious, even if the individual filing the suit has no connection to the woman getting an abortion.
“The obvious and expressly acknowledged intention of this statutory scheme is to prevent women from exercising their constitutional rights by thwarting judicial review,” Garland said of the process.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is confident the courts will rule in the law’s favor. “The most precious freedom is life itself. Texas passed a law that ensures that the life of every child with a heartbeat will be spared from the ravages of abortion,” Renae Eze, spokesperson for the governor, told Associated Press.
Texas Right to Life, Texas’ leading anti-abortion organization and the driving force behind the law, is reported to be already working on proposing similar laws in other states.
While many abortion clinics have agreed to comply with the law, some have put their abortion services on a temporary hold. Meanwhile, abortion clinics in neighboring states have seen a spike in patients.
