Dallas Attorney Files Restraining Order Challenging Texas “Heartbeat” Abortion Bill – CBS Dallas / Fort Worth
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – Attorney Michelle Simpson Tuegel has filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction to block the enforcement of Senate Bill 8, also known as the Texas Heartbeat Bill, dated September 1.
The lawsuit, which was filed in a Dallas, Texas District Court, argues that the bill seeks to prevent attorneys from fulfilling their duty to provide this advice when a client seeks legal advice on abortion issues.
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As plaintiff in the lawsuit, Tuegel argues that the draft law, which is directed against anyone who “knowingly engages in behavior that aids or promotes the performance or induction of an abortion”, encroaches on legal confidentiality and even extends to survivors of sexual assault, Since the bill makes no exceptions in cases of rape or incest.
“This bill is another desperate attempt by the state of Texas to undermine a woman’s right to vote – this time by dismantling her legal aid system,” said Tuegel.
The central question of the lawsuit, Simpson Tuegel explained, was not whether there should be abortion, but rather whether a lawyer should be allowed to advise clients about state laws.
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The lawsuit states that SB8 “created a framework for lawyers to play against their own clients” by breaking into the realm of attorney secrecy and confidentiality by creating civil liability of at least $ 10,000 for each helping a woman in need of an abortion.
It was on May 19 that Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Law No. 8, which banned most abortions in the state in just six weeks and allowed almost every American citizen to sue state abortion providers.
The law banning abortion after a heartbeat is detected has been cited as the strongest pro-life legislation in the country. It prohibits abortions before many women even know they are pregnant and includes pregnancies resulting from rape or incest. There is a limited exception for medical emergencies.
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Texas law currently prohibits abortions after 20 weeks, with exceptions for a woman with a life-threatening illness or when the fetus has a serious abnormality. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 90% of abortions occur in the first 13 weeks of a woman’s pregnancy.
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