Biden Administration Sues Over Barbaric Texas Abortion Law That Would Force a 12-Year-Old to Have Her Rapist’s Child

One week after the Supreme Court’s arch conservatives gave the green light to a monstrous Texas law that bans abortion at six weeks with no rape or incest exceptions, and two days after Texas governor Greg Abbott boldly claimed that the “Texas Heartbeat Act” isn’t as vile as it seems because people are effectively given a luxurious two weeks or so after getting pregnant to decide what to do, the Biden administration has sued the Lone Star state, saying the law is unconstitutional and sets an absolutely horrifying precedent.

Announcing the lawsuit at a press conference in Washington, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the law’s “unprecedented” design, wherein Texas has deputized citizen vigilantes to enforce it by putting a $10,000-plus bounty on the head of anyone suspected of “aiding or abetting” the medical procedure, seeks to “prevent women from exercising their constitutional rights by thwarting judicial review for as long as possible.… The act is clearly unconstitutional under longstanding Supreme Court precedent.”

As many have noted, that was on purpose. The evil minds who came up with the legislation did so specifically with the intention of making it difficult to impossible for clinics to obtain court orders blocking enforcement of the law; since the law went into effect last week, abortion providers across Texas have stopped offering the procedure, and some have been forced to shutter altogether. “This kind of scheme to nullify the Constitution of the United States is one that all Americans—whatever their politics or party—should fear,” Garland warned on Thursday, saying that Texas’s approach could become a model for other states—at least seven of which are already planning copycat legislation—when it comes not just to abortion but other constitutional rights.

“The United States has the authority and responsibility to ensure that Texas cannot evade its obligations under the Constitution and deprive individuals of their constitutional rights by adopting a statutory scheme designed specifically to evade traditional mechanisms of federal judicial review,” the lawsuit reads. The Justice Department is asking for a declaratory judgement calling the abortion ban invalid, as well as a “preliminary and permanent injunction against the State of Texas—including all of its officers, employees, and agents, including private parties” who would enforce the ban, CNN notes.

According to CNN, the Supreme Court’s refusal to stop the law from going into effect last week caught the DOJ by surprise, despite the fact that it is stacked with conservatives with disturbing views about a woman’s right to chose (which is exactly why they were nominated to the court). But given the fact that similar laws from other states had previously been blocked, DOJ officials apparently didn’t expect the justices to actually allow this one to go through. Per CNN:

Dozens of lawyers spent the past week working on the best way to try to challenge the law directly. They determined using the federal programs that would be disrupted by the ban presented the best way to establish standing and to try to preempt the law. Thursday, Garland said the Texas law infringed upon the activities of Labor Department, Defense Department and other federal agencies. Specifically, DOJ said in the lawsuit, the Texas law “exposes federal personnel and grantees to liability for carrying out their federal obligations to provide access to abortion-related services to persons” in the federal government’s care.

The DOJ also argued in the filing that the government has the right to bring the suit against the state because the U.S. may “vindicate its interest” when a state law “flagrantly infringes the constitutional rights of the public at large.” The “United States therefore may sue a State to vindicate the rights of individuals when a state infringes on rights protected by the Constitution.” It also cited the so-called “Take Care” Clause of the Constitution, which says that the president has the duty to “take care that the Laws be faithfully executed.”

While Brigitte Amiri, deputy director of the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project, told CNN the lawsuit was “welcome news,” and Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said it would be a “game changer,” it’s not at all clear the suit will be successful. Perhaps even more worrisome, as The Cut notes, the Supreme Court is already planning to rule on a Mississippi law banning abortion at 15 weeks, and in the event it overturns Roe v. Wade, “Texas is among the states with a ‘trigger law’ already on the books, which would immediately outlaw abortion across the state as soon as the bench hands down its decision.”

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Biden tells unvaccinated Americans to cut the bullshit

While announcing sweeping new vaccine mandates that could affect up to 100 million Americans, Biden gave those who’ve long been eligible to get their shots but have refused to do so a piece of his mind. Per The Washington Post:

In remarks from the White House, Biden took a more antagonistic tone toward the unvaccinated than he has in the past, as he turned from cajoling toward compulsion and blamed those who refuse to get shots for hurting those around them. “We’ve been patient, but our patience is wearing thin, Biden said. “And your refusal has cost all of us.”

While the current surge in infections is not as bad as at the pandemic’s peak last year, Biden said, “What makes it incredibly more frustrating is we have the tools to combat COVID-19, and a distinct minority of Americans, supported by a distinct minority of elected officials, are preventing us from turning the corner.”

On Thursday, the White House released an 11-page memo entitled “Path Out of the Pandemic,” outlining the six major areas the administration is using to tackle the virus. The most far-reaching, according to the Post, is a new regulation that will be written by the Labor Department requiring all businesses with more than 100 employees to either require vaccinations for all their workers or mandate weekly COVID-19 tests, a move the White House estimates will affect two-thirds of the country’s work force. Once it’s in place, businesses that do not comply could be hit with penalties of up to $14,000 per violation. “This plan will ensure that we are using every available tool to combat COVID-19 and save even more lives in the months ahead, while also keeping schools open and safe, and protecting our economy from lockdowns and damage,” the memo says.

Naturally, elected officials who would apparently like to see the pandemic carry on in perpetuity are apoplectic at the idea of the government enforcing public health measures in the face of a deadly disease. “I will pursue every legal option available to the state of Georgia to stop this blatantly unlawful overreach by the Biden administration,” Georgia governor Brian Kemp tweeted during Biden’s remarks. This evening, Fox News’s prime-time hosts will undoubtedly be screeching about the announcement in a glass-breaking pitch only dogs can hear.

As for the jerk in 18B who won’t wear a mask?

Biden’s got a surprise for him. Per Bloomberg:

The Biden administration has an answer for the growing numbers of unruly airline passengers who won’t don masks while in flight. They’ll be fined twice as much. The plan to double financial penalties for those who violate federal rules requiring masks on commercial airplanes is part of the government’s latest effort to slow the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus.

“If you break the rules, be prepared to pay,” President Joe Biden said Thursday evening in a White House address announcing the new mandates. Biden also singled out the rise in reported episodes involving unruly passengers who have been captured protesting mask requirements in videos that often go viral. “Show some respect,” he said. “The anger you see on television toward flight attendants and others doing their job is wrong. It’s ugly.”  

“The new range of penalties will be $500-$1,000 for first offenders and $1,000-$3,000 for second offenders,” the TSA said on its website, adding that the increased fines take effect on Friday.

Again, we can no doubt expect the likes of Tucker Carlson to have a televised meltdown over this news tonight, insisting that it’s his right as an American to spread COVID particles to whomever he pleases and punch a flight attendant in the face for not getting his pretzels to him as quickly as he requires.

In fact, Jeanine Pirro is already on it

Elsewhere!