The Supreme Court did not take action Wednesday against a request to block a Texas law that would prohibit most abortions after six weeks into pregnancy.
And so, the Texas abortion law — deemed “the most restrictive abortion law in the nation” by The New York Times — will go into effect.
What is the new Texas abortion law?
The law — The Texas Heartbeat Act, or Senate Bill 8 — is basically a complete ban on abortions in Texas.
- The law does not have exceptions for incest or rape.
- It allows citizens to bring civil suits against anyone who works with a pregnant person who is searching for an abortion, CNN reports.
- The law allows citizens to file civil lawsuits against people who help pregnant women reach the abortion clinic when seeking an abortion, per NPR.
Is anyone challenging the Texas abortion law?
Abortion providers have filed an emergency application to block the law. It remains pending.
- The Supreme Court will rule on that application soon, per The New York Times.
What the Texas abortion law means
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Supreme Court analyst and University of Texas Law School professor Steve Vladeck told CNN it’s too early to know what will happen with the law.
- “What ultimately happens to this law remains to be seen,” he told CNN, “but now through their inaction the justices have let the tightest abortion restriction since Roe v. Wade be enforced for at least some period of time.”