The Texas law that bans abortion after six weeks, otherwise known as the “heartbeat law,” is in a judicial tug-of-war.

The law, which has had the pro-abortion left in hysterics, was only in effect for a little over a month when leftist judges began to strike back. First, one Texas state judge ruled that no lawsuits could be filed against abortion providers. That did not satisfy the left, as the chilling effect of “what happens if the law stands” was pretty obvious. Then, as Cameron wrote about just this last Thursday, a federal judge took the law into his own hands and issued a temporary restraining order against… everyone in Texas from acting on the law.

“It is ordered that the State of Texas, including its officers, officials, agents, employees and any other persons or entities acting on its behalf, are preliminarily enjoined from enforcing Texas Health and Safety Code,” Judge (Robert) Pitman wrote.”

Judge Pitman said state court judges and state court clerks who had the power to enforce or administer the law were not to do so.”

Obviously, there are issues with that, plus the fact that the law itself has a clause to retroactively allow lawsuits, should the law ever be temporarily blocked or suspended – which meant that abortion providers in Texas weren’t exactly throwing the doors open to their clinics the second this ruling came down. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton immediately vowed to appeal the ruling to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Late on Friday, the Fifth Circuit pulled their side of the rope in the judicial tug-of-war, and issued a stay on Judge Pitman’s restraining order against the heartbeat law.

Great news tonight, The Fifth Circuit has granted an administrative stay on #SB8. I will fight federal overreach at every turn. https://t.co/Mrfj3lt2ix

— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) October 9, 2021

The restraining order has been restrained. I told you this was a legal tug-of-war.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary stay, effectively pausing U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman’s decision to grant a temporary restraining order against the abortion ban earlier this week.”

The appeals court decision means the abortion law is reinstated pending further legal actions. In his earlier decision, Pitman referred to the law as an “offensive deprivation” of the constitutional right to an abortion.”

No one was surprised by this result, not even… Rachel Maddow.

BREAKING: 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstates Texas abortion ban

Details coming up after the commercial break… pic.twitter.com/gyvUUR5jMZ

— Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) October 9, 2021

The Fifth Circuit has a reputation for being as conservative (or “dangerous,” if you’re the Washington Post) as the Ninth Circuit is liberal. This is why Rachel Maddow appears so calm when she breaks the news on her show. Everyone knew this was coming, just not that it was going to happen quite this quickly.

So, what happens now? Well, Texas will get to keep the status quo of the last month. No abortions after six weeks gestation, or abortion providers run the risk of being sued. However, we all know that this law will eventually end up being challenged again, and will inevitably head toward the Supreme Court. Despite the Democrats’ open worship of abortion on demand, as demonstrated with their horrific vote in September in the House (even though the bill has zero chance in the Senate), the issue of abortion restrictions in the United States will end up being decided by SCOTUS. But it might not take the Texas law advancing for there to be a ruling on abortion limits in the United States.

The session that started just this last Monday already has the Mississippi case on its docket, where Mississippi had passed a law blocking abortions after 15 weeks gestation. While Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch filed a brief asking that the Court overturn Roe v. Wade, the odds that SCOTUS actually does so are almost nil. Could SCOTUS rule that states can set their own limits on elective abortions, under the Tenth Amendment and the concept of federalism? Yes, they could. If they do rule in Mississippi’s favor next June, that could mean that the heartbeat law in Texas is here to stay.

Featured image via succo on Pixabay, cropped, Pixabay license