The US Supreme Court failed to step in and review Texas’ new law banning abortion at six weeks before most women even know they are pregnant. “The law allows private citizens to bring civil suits against anyone who assists a pregnant person seeking an abortion in violation of the ban.”
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.”
Texas’ State Legislature designed the law so no government official could enforce it. Instead, the law allows private citizens “-anywhere in the country -to bring civil suits against anyone who assists a pregnant person seeking an abortion in violation of the ban.”
The case comes as the justices have already agreed to consider a Mississippi law during their upcoming term that bars most abortions at 15 weeks. Supporters of abortion rights say the Mississippi and Texas laws are a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 opinion legalizing abortion nationwide prior to viability, which can occur at around 24 weeks of pregnancy.
