Washington (AFP) – The US Supreme Court on Friday allowed abortion providers to pursue legal challenges to a near-total ban on abortions in Texas but let the controversial law remain in effect for now.
Eight of the nine justices on the conservative-leaning court agreed that lawsuits filed by abortion providers against the Texas law may proceed in federal court.
The “Texas Heartbeat Act” bans abortion after six weeks and is the most restrictive law passed in the United States since abortion was made a constitutional right five decades ago.
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Chief Justice John Roberts, in his opinion, said that “given the ongoing chilling effect of the state law, the District Court should resolve this litigation and enter appropriate relief without delay.”
A previous bid by abortion providers to halt enforcement of the Texas law had failed in the nation’s highest court by a 5-4 margin.
Laws restricting abortion have been passed in multiple Republican-led states but struck down by the courts because they violated previous Supreme Court rulings that guaranteed the right to an abortion until the fetus is viable outside the womb, typically around 22 to 24 weeks.
Texas Senate Bill 8 (SB8) differs from other efforts in that it attempts to insulate the state by giving members of the public the right to sue doctors who perform abortions — or anyone who helps facilitate them — once a heartbeat in the womb is detected.