Texas Restrictive Abortion Law Takes Effect As Supreme Court Refuses to Block It

The Supreme Court on late Wednesday refused to block a Texas law that would prevent women from having an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy.

The 5-4 Supreme Court ruling was handed down a minute before midnight. The Texas Heartbeat Act, also known as Senate Bill 8, went into effect after the Supreme Court did not block it.

The high court's decision came after abortion providers in Texas filed an emergency appeal at the Supreme Court on Monday. They challenged how the lower courts handled the case, USA Today reported. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in New Orleans, also declined to block enforcement of the law.

The plaintiffs were led by the Center for Reproductive Rights, American Civil Liberties Union, and Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

Supreme Court Allows Texas Abortion Law; Different Reactions Rise Amid the Law's Effectivity

Chief Justice John Roberts dissented alongside liberal justices Elaina Kagan, Stephen Breyer, and Sonia Sotomayor. The four of them wrote their own separate opinion opposing the majority decision.

"Today, the Court belatedly explains that it declined to grant relief because of the procedural complexities of the state's own invention," Sonia Sotomayor said in dissent as she described the majority decision as "stunning."

Sotomayor added that the Texas law was "engineered" to prevent the women from exercising their "constitutional rights" and avoid judicial scrutiny.

Meanwhile, Stephen Breyer also said that the law prevents a woman from getting an abortion during the first stage of pregnancy. Breyer further noted that a woman has a "constitutional right" to obtain the procedure during the first stage of pregnancy.

The abortion-rights advocates said that Senate Bill 8 is the "most restrictive" anti-abortion law to go into effect in the U.S.

The decision of the Supreme Court was a blow to the high court's ruling nearly 50 years ago of Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion nationally and essentially legalized the language of the law to incentivize private litigation to cripple abortion care and support services.

Texas Abortion Law

In May, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 8, which prohibits abortion when a fetal heartbeat can be detected in a fetus, occurring six weeks during a woman's pregnancy.

Unlike other anti-abortion laws from other states, it allows lawsuits against abortion providers rather than through the state government.

Apart from banning abortion for women during their six-week pregnancy, anyone who successfully sued an abortion provider can be awarded up to $10,000, NPR reported.

A "whistleblower" website was also curated so that people can anonymously submit tips about anyone they think is violating the law.

Despite the opposition the law sustained, John Seago from Texas Right to Life said the Texas abortion ban is not against women. Instead, it is against individuals making money out of the procedure.

This article is owned by Latin Post

Written By: Joshua Summers

WATCH: Texas 6-Weeks Abortion Can Takes Effect as U.S. Supreme Court Takes no Action - From KHOU 11