Thread by @ZoeTillman

Last night, a federal judge in Texas halted enforcement of the state's 6-week abortion ban. Texas filed a notice of appeal, but as of now there is no docketed action in the 5th Circuit. We'll continue to provide updates as this all unfolds.
buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…

US District Judge Robert Pitman denied Texas's request to place his own ruling on hold if he granted DOJ's request for a preliminary injunction:

"This Court will not sanction one more day of this offensive deprivation of such an important right." buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…

An immediate practical effect of Pitman's injunction is that state courts in Texas are prohibited from accepting, processing, or doing anything else to facilitate the private lawsuits that SB 8 permitted to enforce the abortion ban. buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…

Pitman ordered Texas to put up notices about his order on public-facing state court websites — not seeing that yet, but if you do please reach out and let us know.
buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…

What's not certain is if abortion providers in the state will, or can, immediately begin resuming abortion services barred by SB 8 pending action by the 5th Circuit. Whole Woman's Health said they were "making plans" to resume care "as soon as possible" buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…

Update: Texas's appeal of last night's preliminary injunction decision in the SB 8 fight is docketed in the 5th Circuit, nothing posted yet besides the notice that Texas is appealing buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…

Amy Hagstrom Miller of Whole Woman's Health, which provides abortions in Texas, is speaking w/ reporters about the SB 8 injunction — she says they have already provided abortion care today and are contacting patients past 6 weeks about initiating state's 24-hour waiting period

(Deleted previous tweet because it wasn't complete and Miller later provided more information)

Miller says that in recent weeks, they've worked with patients who weren't eligible for an abortion under SB 8 to at least initiate the state's consent process so that if there was an injunction, they could receive an abortion asap, and that's what's happened today

Miller says the reason clinics that provide abortions in Texas haven't fully reopened today is that many providers and staff are scared of the section of SB 8 that says they couldn't rely on last night's injunction as a defense against being sued if that order is later reversed

Miller said that call volume has gone up so far today, and that patients and staff are expressing some "hope" but that there's also a "little desperation" mixed in: "Folks know that this opportunity could be short-lived.”

Miller declined to say how many doctors have performed post-6-week abortions today or where they were located, anticipating being targeted going forward by anti-abortion activists

To recap: Whole Womans Health has confirmed that they are performing some post-6-week abortions today after a judge issued a preliminary injunction last night halting enforcement of Texas's SB 8, and are in the process of moving more patients through the state's consent process

Earlier in the call, Miller talked about how SB 8 has affected operations at Whole Womans Health clinics in Texas — they've turned away 100s of patients seeking abortions since Sept. 1, staff have been under surveillance, opponents have sent in "fake" patients to test compliance

Where do things stand this p.m.? Texas filed its appeal with the 5th Circuit, but so far has not filed papers seeking a stay of last night's preliminary injunction (or, at least, nothing is publicly docketed yet). So right now, the operative ruling is that SB 8 cannot be enforced

"Folks know that this opportunity could be short-lived."

A Texas healthcare provider said they've resumed performing abortions after week 6 of a person's pregnancy after a judge blocked the state's ban, but acknowledged it's an uncertain time:
buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…

As we wait to see what happens next in the 5th Circuit on Texas's appeal of last night's injunction halting SB 8, Texas has notified the district court judge that for now it's also working on complying with his order re: notifying state courts judges and clerks