Justice Department says it will 'protect' anyone seeking an abortion in Texas

Attorney General Merrick Garland.
(Image credit: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday said the Justice Department will "protect those seeking to obtain or provide reproductive health services" in Texas, and is exploring "all options" to challenge the state's new restrictive law that bans abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancy.

After the new law — which does not make exceptions for rape or incest — went into effect last week, the Supreme Court refused to block it. President Biden has asked the Justice Department to look into how it can contest the measure, The Washington Post reports, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she will call a vote later this month on legislation that would make a woman's right to an abortion part of federal law.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.