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(LifeSiteNews) — A federal court has once again allowed the Texas Heartbeat Act to stand while the legal challenges from the Biden administration continue.

Judges Catharina Hayes (nominated by President George W. Bush) and James Ho (nominated by President Donald Trump) said on Thursday that the pro-life law should remain in effect until the entire Fifth Circuit hears the challenges to it. President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice wanted a preliminary injunction issued against the law, which would allow abortion facilities to abort babies while the court battles continued.

The three-judge panel overruled an October 6 district court decision to prevent enforcement of the law while the case proceeded.

There is a parallel legal case on behalf of Texas abortion vendors who are seeking to stop state officials and private individuals from enforcing the law. The Act is unique in that it allows private individuals to sue people who help someone have an abortion after a heartbeat has been detected, including the abortionist and a taxi driver who brings a woman to the facility.

Texas Right to Life praised the ruling.

“We are excited to continue saving hundreds of lives through the Texas Heartbeat Act,” communications director Kim Schwartz said in a statement.However, the battle is not finished. We expect the Biden administration to appeal to the Supreme Court of the U.S., and we are confident Texas will ultimately defeat these attacks on our life-saving efforts.”

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) criticized the court decision.

“A federal appeals court has granted Texas’ request to pause the district court’s preliminary injunction blocking the state’s extreme abortion ban, SB8, while the case proceeds,” the liberal advocacy group tweeted. “This means SB8 will continue to block people from getting essential abortion care.”

“For millions of people in Texas, this back and forth in the courts is creating confusion and inconsistency in abortion access, with devastating consequences,” the ACLU said. “Until it is stopped for good, this cruel ban will continue to wreak havoc, impacting marginalized communities the most.”

The back and forth has helped save lives from abortion, even during the brief period when a judge granted an injunction against the law.

“Given the state’s appeal, our health centers may not have the days or even weeks it could take to navigate new patients through Texas’s onerous abortion restrictions,” the leaders of Texas and Gulf Coast Planned Parenthood facilities said after the initial reprieve from the law.

The law contains language that allows for private lawsuits against anyone who assists with an abortion even if the law is temporarily enjoined from enforcement, if it is eventually upheld as legal.

“Any abortion you provide, even with an injunction, could be seen as criminal a year from now, six months from now — and you could be held accountable for every one of those,” Amy Hagstrom Miller, the CEO of Whole Woman’s Health said. “It’s pretty daunting to think about that.” Her group committed some abortions on women on a waiting list in the week-long period when a judge blocked enforcement of the law.

The heartbeat bill has likely saved over 3,000 babies from abortion in the past 7 weeks, according to analysis from Texas Right to Life.

“Eighty-five percent of abortions that previously would have been occurring in our state are now illegal,” Rebecca Parma with the Texas pro-life group wrote in The Federalist. “More than 100 babies per day are being given a chance at life.”

She said the civil penalties enforcement strikes at the heart of the abortion industry’s desire to protect its profits.

“Civil penalties are the most effective in pro-life laws because the abortion industry is profit-driven. The industry profits off killing preborn children and does not want to lose money,” Parma wrote. “So it complies with pro-life laws (even as it fights them in the courts). That is why the Texas Heartbeat Act uses civil remedies — because it incentivizes compliance from the abortion industry.”