Federal judge Robert Lee Pitman of the Western District of Texas has issued a stay, blocking the implementation of the controversial Texas abortion law that makes abortions after the sixth week of pregnancy illegal and allows for vigilantes to sue every involved in providing the abortion, but the pregnant woman, for at least $10,000.
According to NBC News, Pitman, a 2014 appointee to the federal bench nominated by Barack Obama, granted a motion by the US Department of Justice in its lawsuit against the government of Texas. Justice Department lawyers are suing to declare the Texas law unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court refused to issue a similar stay in the implementation of the law, which went into effect in September.