A Texas law that bans most abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancy took effect Wednesday after the Supreme Court did not act on an emergency appeal to block enforcement of the measure.
The enactment of the law is a defeat for abortion providers and advocates who asked the Supreme Court to block its implementation temporarily, saying it would overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case that gave women the option to have abortions.
“If permitted to take effect, S.B. 8 would immediately and catastrophically reduce abortion access in Texas, barring care for at least 85% of Texas abortion patients (those who are six weeks pregnant or greater) and likely forcing many abortion clinics ultimately to close,” petitioners wrote in their emergency appeal last month to Justice Samuel Alito, who oversees requests from the circuit court that covers Texas.
President Joe Biden vowed to protect abortion rights on Thursday after the law took effect, saying his administration is “deeply committed to the constitutional right established in Roe v. Wade.”
“The Texas law will significantly impair women’s access to the healthcare they need, particularly for communities of color and individuals with low incomes,” he said. “And, outrageously, it deputizes private citizens to bring lawsuits against anyone who they believe has helped another person get an abortion, which might even include family members, healthcare workers, front desk staff at a healthcare clinic, or strangers with no connection to the individual.”
TEXAS ABORTION LAW LIKELY TO TAKE EFFECT WEDNESDAY
In a new statement, President Biden lambasts the Texas law that went into effect overnight banning abortion in the state after six weeks, calling it “extreme” and a blatant violation of constitutional right established under Roe v. Wade. pic.twitter.com/3AR8IHMl96
— Betsy Klein (@betsy_klein) September 1, 2021
The petition was met with criticism from a group of top Texas officials, including Attorney General Ken Paxton, who urged the Supreme Court to deny their opponents’ “audacious requests” to undermine the law.
S.B. 8, signed into law in May by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, prevents medical workers from performing or inducing abortions if they have “detected a fetal heartbeat for the unborn child” but provides exemptions related to medical emergencies.
The legislation also allows an individual to file civil lawsuits against anyone who provides abortions or “aids or abets” them after the detection of a heartbeat, according to the law’s text. A lawsuit filed under this pretense can yield at least $10,000 in “statutory damages” per abortion.
In response to the Supreme Court‘s decision not to respond to the appeal, the American Civil Liberties Union tweeted that S.B. 8 “actively encourages private individuals to act as bounty hunters by awarding them at least $10,000 if they are successful,” calling the move a “full-scale assault on patients, our health care providers, and our support systems.”
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The justices are slated to reconsider the precedents later this fall in the largest abortion rights case to come before the high court in years. The case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, will determine whether all pre-viability abortion bans are unconstitutional or whether a new standard should be imposed.
