By Adam Edelman - NBC News
A divided Supreme Court rejected Wednesday night to block a restrictive Texas law that bans abortions after fetal heart activity can be detected, or after six weeks of pregnancy, and allows anyone in the United States. You can sue an abortion clinic or anyone who has helped someone get an abortion after the limit and demand up to $ 10,000 per defendant.
The vote was 5-4, with Chief Justice John Roberts dissenting, along with Liberal Justices Elaina Kagan, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor.
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The lack of action by the nation's high court is a blow to the Roe v Wade case, the landmark 1973 court case in which the Supreme Court of l decriminalized induced abortion in the country, legalizing the language that encourages private litigation. to paralyze abortion care and support services.
The law, known as Senate Bill 8, took effect at midnight Wednesday, after the Supreme Court took no immediate action to block it.
Abortion rights advocates say the measure is the most restrictive anti-abortion law to come into effect in the United States in years, with provisions that amount to a near-total ban on abortion in the state.
Supreme Court Building in Washington, June 8, 2021.AP Photo / J.
Scott applewhite
Texas abortion clinics filed an emergency request Monday asking the Supreme Court to block the law, claiming the measure would "immediately and catastrophically reduce access to abortion in the state, preventing care for at least 85% of abortion patients in Texas (those who are six weeks or more pregnant) and likely forcing many abortion clinics to ultimately close. "
The plaintiffs - led by the Center for Reproductive Rights, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), including several abortion clinics in Texas - filed the petition to the Supreme Court after the US 5th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to block the law.
Texas law prohibits abortions after fetal heart activity is detected, which occurs as early as six weeks into the pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant.
Unlike the anti-abortion laws of other states, the Texas-only ban is enforced through private citizen lawsuits against abortion clinics and not through the state government.
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The law includes new language that allows anyone, even those out of state, to sue abortion providers or others who help women abort after the six-week limit and ask for $ 10,000 per defendant.
The targets of the lawsuits could include not only organizations that help pay for abortions and support groups that provide women with transportation, lodging, recovery care and childcare, but also doctors, nurses , domestic violence counselors, and even friends, parents, spouses, and members of the clergy who provide help, such as taking a woman to a clinic or advising her on whether to have the procedure.
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Groups that support abortion rights and provide such services argue that the law would cripple their ability to function by allowing abortion opponents to flood the courts with lawsuits to harass doctors, counselors, and family and friends of those they want. terminate your pregnancy.
Proponents of abortion claim the law is unconstitutional.
Previous Supreme Court rulings have made it illegal for states to ban abortion before the fetus is viable, which usually occurs around the 24th week of pregnancy.
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However, Law 8 was not designed to directly penalize abortions after six weeks, allowing the law to circumvent that rule.
Rather, critics say it was written to incentivize civil lawsuits at the municipal, county and state levels - lawsuits that abortion supporters would have to pay potentially dissuasive costs to defend themselves, regardless of the outcome of the cases.
That language also makes it difficult for abortion advocates to fight law enforcement.
For example, in the case of a traditional prohibition applied by a state government, plaintiffs could report to the authorities to prevent it from taking effect.
In this case, as the law is enforced through private citizen lawsuits, the plaintiffs have resorted to reporting to a large number of state and local courts in the hope of blocking the requirements.
Experts say there could still be numerous loopholes that would allow for the filing of anti-abortion lawsuits under state law.
The law is also uniquely designed to put defendants at a financial disadvantage by requiring them to pay their own legal fees and those of the plaintiffs if they win.
All damages, meanwhile, would go into the plaintiff's pocket, and those believed to be helping women get abortion care could be reported multiple times by different parties.