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A federal judge temporarily blocked Texas’ near-total abortion ban Wednesday as part of a lawsuit the Biden administration launched against the state over its new law that bars abortions as early as six weeks of pregnancy. But it’s unclear how U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman’s order may affect access to abortions in the state — or if it will at all. The state of Texas quickly filed a notice of appeal and will almost definitely seek an emergency stay of Pitman's order in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is known as perhaps the nation’s most conservative appellate court. (Oxner, 10/6)

In a 113-page opinion, Judge Robert Pitman barred state judges and court clerks from hearing lawsuits against abortion providers and others who help women obtain the procedure after about six weeks of pregnancy. The law requires private citizens, not state officials, to enforce the new guidelines through litigation in state courts. The decision was quickly appealed by state leaders. In a seething conclusion, Pitman also denied the state’s request to delay any injunction until it has a chance to appeal, writing it had “forfeited the right” by concocting such an obviously unconstitutional law in the first place. Women have had constitutional access to abortion since 1973. (Blackman and Goldenstein, 10/7)

The White House and the Justice Department praised the decision. “Tonight’s ruling is an important step forward toward restoring the constitutional rights of women across the state of Texas,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki. She added: “The fight has only just begun, both in Texas and in many states across this country where women’s rights are currently under attack.“ (Gerstein and Ollstein, 10/6)

Amy Hagstrom Miller, founder of Whole Woman’s Health, said the organization’s four abortion clinics would immediately resume procedures up to 18 weeks of pregnancy. After the law went into effect, the clinics were having to turn away some 80% of patients seeking abortions, Ms. Miller said previously. Wednesday evening, she called the judge’s ruling amazing. “It’s the justice we’ve been seeking for weeks,” Ms. Miller said. Kimberlyn Schwartz, the spokeswoman for Texas Right to Life, said the organization wasn’t surprised by the ruling and called the injunction unprecedented. “We expect a fair shake at the Fifth Court of Appeals,” Ms. Schwartz said. “The legacy of Roe v. Wade is you have these judges that will bend over to cater to the abortion industry.” (Kendall, 10/6)

In the wording of the new law, abortions in Texas are prohibited once medical professionals can detect cardiac activity, usually around six weeks and before some women know they’re pregnant. Enforcement is left up to private citizens who are deputized to file civil lawsuits against abortion providers, as well as others who help a woman obtain an abortion in Texas. Supporters of the law known as Senate Bill 8 were preparing for a ruling that favors the Justice Department’s challenge but believe the measure — the strictest abortion law in the nation — will ultimately be upheld. Texas officials swiftly told the court Wednesday of their intention to seek a reversal. (Weber and Gresko, 10/7)

Attorney General Maura Healey, who was one of 24 state attorneys general to file a brief in support of the justice department’s lawsuit, applauded Pitman. She called the law “a blatantly unconstitutional scheme to undermine” the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade that has guaranteed access to abortion for almost half a century. “For weeks, patients in Texas have been forced to travel thousands of miles to nearby states to access safe, legal abortion,” Healey said in a statement. “They have driven in the dead of night in secret, for fear of bounty hunters chasing their friends and families. Those who cannot afford the trip have been forced into pregnancy by the state of Texas, forever altering the course of their lives. (Fox, 10/6)

Kentucky’s Republican attorney general laid out his strategy Wednesday to champion his state’s embattled abortion law in court, calling his office the “last line of defense” for the measure that would block a second-trimester procedure to end pregnancies. Attorney General Daniel Cameron said his first goal is to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court to let him defend the 2018 law, which was previously struck down by lower courts. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the procedural dispute and scheduled a hearing next Tuesday. (Schreiner, 10/6)