Planned Parenthood and the ACLU are suing to stop a Texas city from implementing a “sanctuary for the unborn” ordinance that seeks to outlaw abortions.
Voters in Lubbock, Texas, passed the ordinance earlier this month, bucking council members in the West Texas city, who warned it would cause a legal battle and it isn’t enforceable, the .
The law, one of many similar ones pa🌃ssed in Texas, would reportedly take effect on June 1.
But it couldn’t be enforced by the government unless the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision gets overturned, and would instead rely on potential family members of aborted fetuses suing the provider of the abortion, the according to The Tribune.
The federal , filed by Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas Surgical Health Services, argues the threat of a lawsuit would put “great” risk on health-care providers.
“Even if they were to successfully defend against a civil suit, the litigation costs from the barrage of civil lawsuits encouraged by the ordinance would be crushing,” the complaint reads. “Indeed, the Ordinance has already forced Plaintiffs to cancel abortion-related appointments to avoid potential liability.”’
“Therefore, the Ordinance leaves Plaintiffs no choice but to cease all abortion services in Lubbock. That will undermine Plaintiffs’ mission of providing affordable, comprehensive reproductive health care (especially to patients from underserved communities).”
T♎he suit seeks to stop the ordinance from going into🔜 effect next month.
Abortion opponents were unfazed.
“The ordinance language is solid and was carefully drafted in expectation of the abortion industry filing a lawsuit,” said spokesperson for Texas Right to Life Kimberlyn Schwartz.