Texas provider resumes abortions after 6 weeks after judge blocks ban

Whole Woman's Health, a Texas abortion provider, announced Thursday that it has resumed providing abortions past the six-week gestation period, more than a month after Texas' controversial abortion ban took effect.

Why it matters: The announcement comes less than a day after a federal judge granted the Biden administration's request to temporarily block enforcement of the ban, allowing medical professionals to offer abortions even after about six weeks of pregnancy without fear of legal repercussions.

• The Justice Department sued Texas over the law, challenging the constitutionality of the ban on most abortions, Axios' Shawna Chen reports.
• U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman, who made the ruling, also questioned the constitutionality of the ban, saying, "[a] person's right under the Constitution to choose to obtain an abortion... is well established."

What they're saying: "We breathe a deep sigh of relief after a federal judge has blocked the enforcement of Senate Bill 8," Amy Hagstrom Miller, President of Whole Woman's Health, said in a statement.

• "Our clinic staff has been bending over backward to help as many of our patients as we can," she added.
• "This is the justice we have been seeking for weeks and we are grateful that the court has finally stepped in to curb some of the suffering Texans have faced under this cruel ban."

Go deeper: Federal judge temporarily bars enforcement of Texas abortion ban.