Abortion law in Texas: US Supreme Court rejects urgent motion against "Heartbeat Bill"

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Women protest in Texas against the new, controversial law called "Heartbeat Bill"

Photo: Jay Janner / AP

The new, tightened abortion law in the US state of Texas is in effect for the time being - the US Supreme Court has rejected an urgent motion to block the controversial Heartbeat Bill. The judges voted against the urgent motion with a narrow majority of five to four. They justified their decision on Wednesday evening with "complex and novel procedural questions". However, the Supreme Court did not make a decision on the constitutionality of the controversial law.

The controversial new regulations have been in effect since Wednesday.

They prohibit abortions once the fetus's heartbeat can be determined.

This is the case from around the sixth week of pregnancy - a point in time when many women do not even know that they are pregnant.

Later abortions are only allowed if the pregnant woman's health is at risk.

The slim majority of five judges goes back to the tenure of former US President Donald Trump.

He had appointed three of them.

Judges from the conservative camp thus form the majority in the nine-member body.

Judge Sotomayor criticizes her colleagues

Liberal judge Sonia Sotomayor was dismayed and said her colleagues had chosen to "bury their heads in the sand" instead of "preventing an apparently unconstitutional law." Several human rights groups filed an urgent motion to the Supreme Court on Monday in hopes of stopping the law from coming into force.

Known as Senate Bill 8 - SB8 for short - was signed in May by the Conservative Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, and is considered the strictest abortion law in the United States.

Anti-abortionists see it as a great success.

In fact, it virtually completely rules out access to abortion in Texas.

According to the civil rights group ACLU, between 85 and 90 percent of all abortions in the state have been performed after the sixth week of pregnancy.

US President Biden announces resistance

There is also outrage that it is not the authorities that are supposed to enforce the new regulations, but private individuals.

Citizens are encouraged to sue those they suspect of assisting women with an abortion after the sixth week.

This could affect abortion clinics or their employees, for example.

Plaintiffs, if convicted, will receive at least $ 10,000 payable by the convict.

The American Medical Association said it was deeply disturbed by the "outrageous law."

Not only does the law virtually prohibit all abortions in Texas, but it also affects relationships between patients and healthcare workers.

Bounties would be put on doctors, "simply because they give treatments."

President Joe Biden also reacted indignantly to the new regulation.

Like numerous women's rights organizations, the Democrat argued that the law was unconstitutional.

It violates the 1973 Supreme Court ruling known as “Roe v.

Wade ”, which legalizes abortions nationwide.

His government is committed to constitutional law and will "protect and defend" it.

Before Texas, about a dozen other conservative states had passed similar abortion laws.

However, they were all collected by the courts because, contrary to the Roe v.

Stand in the calf.

mrc / AFP / Reuters / AP