WASHINGTON — A “trigger ban” on abortion that takes effect in Texas on Thursday allows harsher penalties than other state laws regulating reproductive rights and further complicates an array of abortion laws likely to face continued court challenges.
The trigger ban passed by the Texas Legislature in 2021 kicks in 30 days after the U.S. Supreme Court issued made its ruling overturning Roe vs. Wade final. The court issued that final judgment for the Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case from Mississippi on July 26, starting the countdown.
The ban, similar to the pre-Roe ban, makes performing an abortion a felony. This includes surgical abortion procedures and medical abortion pills administered anytime after conception.
