The Supreme Court on Thursday denied without explanation a petition by abortion providers to send a Texas bill that bans most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy back to a district judge who once blocked the law.
The highest court’s three Democratic-appointed justices, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan, dissented from the six Republican-appointed justices who denied allowing the case to be sent back to the District Court of Travis County, Texas, where Judge Robert Pitman ruled in early October against the state law.
On Monday, a three-judge panel on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sent the legal fight over the Texas law to the state Supreme Court, marking another steep setback for abortion providers who sued in federal court to stop the law that took effect Sept. 1.
“When the mandate issued, I had thought that the Court of Appeals would quickly remand the case to the District Court so that it could reach the merits and enter relief consistent with our ruling,” Breyer wrote in his dissenting opinion.
“This case is a disaster for the rule of law and a grave disservice to women in Texas, who have a right to control their own bodies,” Sotomayor wrote in a scathing dissent against the majority’s decision. “I will not stand by silently as a State continues to nullify this constitutional guarantee.”
TEXAS ABORTION LAW CHALLENGE SENT TO STATE SUPREME COURT
The Supreme Court’s Dec. 10 ruling allowed the law to remain in place but offered a limited window for abortion providers to continue litigation in lower courts against the measure. Four justices at the time said they hoped Pitman would move quickly, though the 5th Circuit moved Monday to send the case to the state Supreme Court to interpret a key provision of the law.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“Given the ongoing chilling effect of the state law, the district court should resolve this litigation and enter appropriate relief without delay,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for himself and the court’s three liberal justices.
Under S.B. 8, abortions in Texas are prohibited after a fetal heartbeat is detected, usually around six weeks, and there are no exceptions for rape or incest. The Texas law allows individuals to bring a civil action against anyone who performs an abortion.
The Texas law, along with a challenge to Mississippi’s abortion law, are considered direct challenges to the Supreme Court’s nearly 50-year-old Roe v. Wade precedent. A ruling in the Mississippi case is expected by June.
