Texas abortion law: 6-week ban takes effect after Supreme Court

On Sep 1, 2021

The lack of judicial intervention means that the law — which is one of the strictest in the nation and bans abortion before many people know they are pregnant — goes into force absent further court intervention.

The law allows private citizens to bring civil suits against anyone who assists a pregnant person seeking an abortion in violation of the ban.

No other six-week ban has been allowed to go into effect — even briefly.

“What ultimately happens to this law remains to be seen,” said CNN Supreme Court analyst and University of Texas Law School professor Steve Vladeck, “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.”

The case comes as the justices are poised in the upcoming term to rule on the constitutionality of a Mississippi law that bars abortion at 15 weeks.

Under the Texas law, abortion is prohibited when a fetal heartbeat is detected, which is often before a woman knows she is pregnant. There is no exception for rape or incest, although there is an exemption for “medical emergencies.”

Abortion providers asked the justices to block the ban while legal challenges played out because they argued that if it were allowed to go into effect it would “immediately and catastrophically reduce abortion access in Texas,” ultimately forcing many abortion clinics to close.

Texas' 6-week abortion ban lets private citizens sue in an unprecedented legal approach

They argued if the law were allowed to take effect it would have the impact of “barring care for at least 85% of Texas abortion patients” and would mean that lawsuits could be filed against a broad range of people including a person who drives their friend to obtain an abortion, someone who provides financial assistance and even to a member of the clergy who assists a patient.

Abortion access had already been curtailed by the ban by the time Wednesday morning rolled around. Whole Woman’s Health — which operates clinics in McAllen, McKinney, Austin, and Fort Worth, and led the federal lawsuit challenging the ban — said that it was only offering the procedure if “if no embryonic or fetal cardiac activity is detected in the sonogram.”

Tuesday night, two hours before the ban was set to go into effect, one of the clinics — Whole Woman’s Health — reported that it was providing abortions. “Our waiting rooms are filled with patients,” the clinic tweeted, adding that “anti-abortion protestors are outside, shining lights on the parking …we are under surveillance.” In another tweet, the clinic said, “This is what abortion care looks like. Human Rights warriors.”

The Supreme Court’s failure to respond prompted a furious backlash from supporters of abortion rights just after the law went into effect.

“Access to almost all abortion has just been cut off for millions of people, the impact will be immediate and devastating,” the ACLU said in a tweet.

Novel legal strategy

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