These arguments will be heard at the Supreme Court on Nov. 1. They will decide if the law, which is the most restrictive in abortion laws in the country, should be blocked or allowed to stand while legal challenges continue.
Since September when it became effective, Senate Bill 8 has faced a number of legal challenges. It also made one trip to the highest court. It has been in effect except for a short time when it was blocked by a lower court judge. This has meant that Texas women who are seeking abortions cannot travel outside of Texas.
These are questions and answers that will help you understand the law and how it is passed through courts.
What exactly is the SUPREME COURT DECIDING?
Abortion providers and the Biden administration brought challenges to Texas’ law before the Supreme Court.
Texas law prohibits abortions after medical professionals detect cardiac activity. This is usually six weeks before most women realize they are pregnant. This is contrary to Supreme Court precedent which states that states cannot ban abortions before viability. That refers to the point at which a foetus can survive without the mother’s help, usually around 24 weeks.
These precedents could be reexamined by the Supreme Court in a case it hears in December. But, it hasn’t.
The Texas law is unusually difficult to challenge in court because of the way it’s written. The justices are currently examining whether the Justice Department or abortion providers can challenge this law in federal court. Even if they decide that one or both of the parties can sue the justices must still vote on whether the law should be allowed to continue in force despite ongoing legal challenges.
WHAT IS UNUSUAL AROUND THE SUPREME COURT’S ACTION FRIDAY
The court moves at an extremely rapid pace. Normaly, it takes months for a court to agree to hear a case. The court then has to prepare for arguments in courtroom. The court has given the parties a very short time frame to prepare for arguments and file briefs. This suggests that the justices are aiming to quickly make a decision.
In cases in which the lower federal courts have ruled in conflict, the high court will usually only accept arguments. This is not the case.
HOW IS TEXAS’ LAW UNUSUAL?
This law is different from other attempts to restrict abortions elsewhere in the country by allowing private citizens to enforce it. They can sue doctors and anyone who assists a woman to have an abortion. Its unique enforcement mechanism has made it difficult to challenge. Normally, the state enforces the law. Suing state officials would be the proper legal avenue.
THE CASE HAS ALREADY BEEN TO THE SUPREME COURT ONCE.
Yes. Yes. In a 5-4 decision, the court rejected the challenge. In a majority ruling, the justices stated that “serious questions have been raised” about the law. They declined to intervene because of a number of issues, including the novel enforcement mechanism and that no one has yet attempted to sue anyone under the law to help a woman have an abortion. The majority of respondents stressed that they were not drawing any conclusions about constitutionality.
Liberal justices and Chief Judge John Roberts voted no. Justice Sonia Sotomayor referred to the decision of her conservative colleagues as “stunning.” Justice Elena Kagan said that the law was patently unconstitutional, and Justice Stephen Breyer stated that a woman has the federal constitutional right to have an abortion in the first stage.
WHAT CAN WE EXPECT TO HAPPEN NOW
All four justices who would have opposed the law have raised concerns about its peculiar structure. It is not clear whether one or more conservatives who voted initially to allow the law to take effect will now be persuaded to stop its enforcement by the administration’s arguments.
WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE LAW IN TEXAS?
Providers have stated that 80% of the abortions provided in Texas before the law was passed in September are now banned. Texas women have been driving long distances to find abortion clinics in neighboring States, sometimes driving through the night. Some of these clinics also accommodate patients as young 12 year olds. Incest and rape are not exempt from the law.
