In a highly anticipated 8-to-1 decision issued this morning, the U.S. Supreme Court failed to block Texas’ draconian abortion law, Senate Bill 8. However, in a very small victory for clinics, the Court did allow abortion providers to challenge the ban in lower courts.
“It’s disappointing that SB 8 is so blatantly cruel and unconstitutional and the court has decided not to grant us relief. While we hold out hope for the rest of our lawsuit, the court still failed us today,” wrote plaintiffs at Whole Woman’s Health, a network of abortion clinics in Texas, in a statement. “For 101 days, our patients have been left with two choices: carry a pregnancy they didn’t want to begin with or jump through hoops to leave the state. It’s heartbreaking and it should have never happened to begin with.”
SB 8 bars abortion care once embryonic cardiac activity is detected, which is around six weeks, and offers no exception for rape or incest. Given that most people are not aware they are pregnant at that stage, the law amounts to a near-total ban on abortion and constitutes the most restrictive anti-abortion law in the country. It has been in effect since the U.S. Supreme Court refused to halt the extreme measure in September, inflicting irreparable damage on hundreds of Texans seeking reproductive health care.
