legal
The court indicated it’s likely to let the Texas Supreme Court rule on the ban’s constitutionality, which could prolong its enforcement for months.
Anti-abortion and abortion rights demonstrators rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images
By ALICE MIRANDA OLLSTEIN
01/07/2022 01:06 PM EST
Updated: 01/07/2022 03:36 PM EST
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A three-judge panel on Friday gave a chilly reception to a request from Texas abortion clinics to send a challenge to the state’s controversial abortion ban back to a lower court that previously ruled to block the law.
Instead, the panel from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals indicated that it’s likely to side with the state’s request to let the Texas Supreme Court rule on the ban’s constitutionality — a move that could prolong its enforcement for months — and even suggested holding off a decision about who should hear the challenge until the fate of Roe v. Wade is decided later this year.
“Maybe we should just sit on this until the end of June and leave the hot potato with the Supreme Court,” suggested Judge Edith Jones, an appointee of former President Ronald Reagan.