Appeals Court Over Rules Liberal Judge & Reinstates Texas 'Heartbeat' Abortion Law

NEW ORLEANS, LA – In an expected back-and-forth legal move, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans over ruled a lower federal district judge's decision to temporarily block the Texas Heartbeat abortion law late Friday night.  

According to reports, the federal appeals court reinstated Texas' "fetal heart beat" abortion law on Friday night, days after a lower court suspended the Republican-backed law.

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 state law earlier this week. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had appealed the lower court’s decision.

"Great news tonight, The Fifth Circuit has granted an administrative stay on #SB8. I will fight federal overreach at every turn," Paxton wrote on Twitter after the decision.

The appeals court decision means the abortion law is reinstated pending further legal actions. In his earlier decision, Pitman, a liberal jurist legislating from the bench and appointed by President Obama, referred to the law as an "offensive deprivation" of the constitutional right to an abortion which doesn't exist.  

The issue could now be addressed by the U.S. Supreme Court.