A federal court has ruled that the state of Tennessee can enforce its ban on abortions that are sought merely because the unborn baby has Down syndrome or based on its race or sex.
The pro-life abortion bans were signed into law by Gov. Bill Lee in July as part of a larger abortion bill, but the legislation was subsequently blocked by a lower court.
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday that the law that would ban abortion in most circumstances once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which is often around six weeks into a pregnancy, can be enforced while the litigation against it carries on, The Epoch Times reported.
The ruling came after the state sought a preliminary injunction against an earlier order by Judge William Campbell of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee who had issued a temporary restraining order against the “reason bans” that were signed into law in July.
The lawsuit against the law was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, along with the Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and others. Campbell argued that the plaintiffs had shown that “they will suffer immediate and irreparable injury, harm, loss, or damage if injunctive relief is not granted pending a preliminary injunction hearing.”
However, the 11-page ruling by the appeals court stated that plaintiffs “have not shown a likelihood of success on the merits of their vagueness challenges to Section 217… On the other hand, the district court’s preliminary injunction of Section 217 ‘subjects [the state] to ongoing irreparable harm.’”
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SOURCE: Christian Post, Anugrah Kumar
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