Justice Department Will Ask Top Court to Halt Texas Abortion Law

The Justice Department said it will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to lift Texas’s ban on abortion after the sixth week of pregnancy, setting up a showdown likely to determine whether the law stays in effect through the end of the year.

A federal appeals court Thursday night let the law stay in effect as the case goes forward, even though a trial judge ruled the measure was unconstitutional. The Justice Department will ask the Supreme Court to set aside the appeals court order, department spokesman Anthony Coley said Friday.

The Justice Department says the law blatantly violates Supreme Court ...