FILE - In this Oct. 2, 2021 file photo, people attend the Women's March ATX rally, at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas. A federal judge has ordered Texas to suspend a new law that has banned most abortions in the state since September. The order Wednesday, Oct. 6, by U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman freezes for now the strict abortion law known as Senate Bill 8.
But the relief felt by Texas abortion providers was tempered by the possibility of an appeals court reinstating the law in the coming days. Some Texas physicians, meanwhile, were still declining to perform abortions, fearful they might be held liable despite the judge's order. In a 113-page opinion, Pitman took Texas to task, saying Republican lawmakers had “contrived an unprecedented and transparent statutory scheme” by leaving enforcement solely in the hands of private citizens, who can collect damages if they bring successful lawsuits against abortion providers who violate the restrictions.
Abortion providers say their fears have become reality in the short time the law has been in effect. Planned Parenthood says the number of patients from Texas at its clinics in the state decreased by nearly 80% in the two weeks after the law took effect.