The news of Texas covered today includes:
Our Lone Star story of the day: The U.S. Supreme Court has finally righted a constitutional disaster, and a moral wrong to a lesser extent, in overturning the Texas case, Roe versus Wade, that removed the power from the people to decide the issue of abortion rights within their republican institutions.
The Dobbs case opinion not only restores power to the people, it clearly explains why Roe, and its follow-up Casey, were so wrong from a constitutional perspective. The justices also provided a very good summary on why precedent, stare decisis, cannot be held to be an “inexorable command” and why it is appropriate in this case to completely overturn precedents set in Roe and Casey.
Our Lone Star story of the day is sponsored by Allied Compliance Services providing the best service in DOT, business and personal drug and alcohol testing since 1995.
Despite many statements and press accounts, Texas new trigger law does not go into effect within 30-days from today. Here is what the Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, explained, in part:
Today, the Court issued its opinion reversing Roe, but it has yet to issue its judgment. A judgment is a legal document distinct from the Court’s opinion. The Court will issue its judgment only after the window for the litigants to file a motion for rehearing has closed. A judgment can issue in about a month, or longer if the Court considers a motion for rehearing. So while it is clear that the Act will take effect, we cannot calculate exactly when until the Court issues its judgment. My office will publicly announce an effective date for the Act as soon as possible—and we look forward to doing so.
Upon taking effect, the Act provides that a person “may not knowingly perform, induce, or attempt an abortion” except under limited circumstances, such as a life-threatening condition to the mother caused by the pregnancy. A person who violates the Act commits a first-degree felony if an unborn child dies as a result and incurs civil penalties of not less than $100,000 for each violation.4 My office is specifically authorized to pursue and recover those civil penalties, and I will strictly enforce this law. Further, we will assist any local prosecutor who pursues criminal charges. Additionally, state licensing authorities are required to revoke any applicable license or permit of a health care professional who performs or attempts to perform an abortion in violation of the Act.
What’s more, some prosecutors may choose to immediately pursue criminal prosecutions based on violations of Texas abortion prohibitions predating Roe that were never repealed by the Texas Legislature.7 Although these statutes were unenforceable while Roe was on the books, they are still Texas law. Under these pre-Roe statutes, abortion providers could be criminally liable for providing abortions starting today.
My prayer for us all:
God, our Father, our creator and creator of all that is, known and unknown, seen and unseen, we praise you this day that you have led the justices of our federal Supreme Court to stand against our sinful, secular culture to reverse the evil decision in Roe v. Wade; a decision that claimed that the very document that you inspired, that exists to protect our basic rights, somehow endowed some with the legal right to take the lives of innocent babies, your creations, for their own convenience, allowing for more sexual immorality with fewer consequences and that such was somehow an issue of Liberty and Equal Protection under law.
Lord God, we call upon you to keep safe from harm those justices, and all others, who publicly stand for a society which keeps your law and teaching above all of the attempts of man to twist, deform, and ignore such in order to aid our rebellion through sin.
Now Lord, we ask you to strengthen us for the battles ahead to preserve the life of innocent babies. Grant us the wisdom and perseverance needed to convince the voters of each state to adopt laws that protect the lives of innocent babies to whom you have given a unique soul and life.
God, we praise you and we thank you for our very lives and all that we are. We pray in the name of the one God: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
And, other news of Texas.
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