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Sept. 13 (UPI) -- A Texas anti-abortion group agreed in a court order issued Monday to hold off on suing Planned Parenthood under a new state law prohibiting abortions after six weeks. Texas Right to Life temporarily committed not to invoke the new law, known as Senate Bill 8, against the women's health provider while its constitutionality is sorted out in upcoming legal proceedings, according to an injunction from the Texas District Court for Travis County.
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The three-page order issued by Judge Karin Crump indicates the anti-abortion group reached an agreement under which it and its legislative director John Seago are prohibited from "instituting private enforcement lawsuits" against Planned Parenthood under the provisions of S.B. 8 in the interim.
S.B. 8, led by Republicans and signed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in May, outlaws abortions when a heartbeat is detectable, which is about six weeks into a pregnancy. It will deny the procedure to about 85% of patients who seek it in the state.
The ban is enforced by members of the public who are able to sue anyone who provides or is involved in aiding and performing abortions barred by the law, including anyone who drives a patient to the procedure.
Planned Parenthood affiliates sued after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to halt enforcement of the measure and won a temporary injunction 10 days ago. In issuing the further injunction, Crump found that the provider "will be imminently and irreparably harmed" absent the order.
The Biden administration last week also filed suit against the Texas law, which has all but halted abortions in the country's second-largest state, calling it "in open defiance of the Constitution."
Texas Right to Life will remain enjoined from suing until a trial is held on the merits of Planned Parenthood's suit, which is set for April 4, 2022.
