'Worst nightmare': Legal analyst says Texas abortion law is already blowing up in GOP's faces
On Monday's edition of CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360," legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin broke down how enforcing the draconian new Texas abortion law is about to get very messy for Republicans, now that the first doctor has been sued under it.
Cooper started out by noting that the first lawsuits brought against a doctor who performed an abortion in Texas came from some disreputable characters who didn't even live in the Lonestar State.
"One of the first legal challenges has come from someone on house arrest, another from a lawyer who has been disbarred," said Cooper. "I mean any — under this law, anybody can just make a complaint?"
"This law in many respects is the worst nightmare of the anti-abortion forces, the people who are behind this law," said Toobin. "It just underlines how ridiculous it is. I mean, you have this disbarred lawyer in Arkansas under house arrest filing one lawsuit. Some random person in Chicago filing the other lawsuit. I mean, how and why they should be able to sue a doctor in San Antonio for doing something that is, at least at this moment, protected under the United States Constitution is just crazy. But it is apparently what this law allows."
Toobin went on to predict that bringing this lawsuit to court could be the first step in the anti-abortion law's undoing.
"And what the advantage that Nancy Northrup and the other people are defending the doctor have, finally a judge will be able to say this law is unconstitutional," said Toobin. "Because of the strange structure of the law, so far the Supreme Court have thrown up hands saying, there is not really a challenge here. It's premature. And they haven't ruled on the constitutionality and this law is now depriving women of the rights that they're guaranteed into its third week. This — these lawsuits should finally get the question of whether the law is constitutional before a judge."
Watch below:
- The architect of the Texas abortion ban also criticized 'rights to ... ›
- Texas creates a market for abortion vigilantism - Alternet.org ›
- Former Bush speechwriter warns Republicans may come to 'regret ... ›
- Texas abortion opponents are furious someone is taking advantage of their bounty hunter law - Alternet.org ›
- Here’s how to fight enforcement of Texas’ 'unconstitutional' anti-abortion law: legal expert - Alternet.org ›
- ‘Some geniuses': Justice Kagan wryly mocks the architects of the Texas abortion ban in oral arguments - Alternet.org ›
- If Texans can sue abortion providers, blue states can sue 'ghost gun' manufacturers: California governor - Alternet.org ›
- The 'radicalized, weaponized' Texas GOP is pushing Republicans all over the US to the extreme right: journalist - Alternet.org ›
- Republicans in Arizona and Florida approve draconian abortion bans - Alternet.org ›
- There can be no ‘politics as usual’ when ‘radicalized’ Republicans reject democracy itself: historian - Alternet.org ›
- Texas GOP lawmaker defends banning abortion but not guns because of 'this thing called the Constitution' - Alternet.org ›
- Criminalizing abortion is a key feature of dismantling the social safety net - Alternet.org ›