The US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, will be the site of a pro-choice protest on November 1, 2021.
The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that a federal lawsuit by abortion providers challenging the legality of Texas' new abortion ban can proceed before the law is enforced against anyone.
The Supreme Court allowed the Texas law to remain in effect during the challenge, which will be heard in a lower federal court.
The law gives private citizens the power to file lawsuits for at least $10,000 against anyone who aided or abetted an abortion. It has not been enforced against any provider yet for an abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected.
The court in its 8-1 ruling allowed the suit to proceed and noted that other viable avenues to contest the law's compliance with the Federal Constitution also may be possible.
The ruling said that the abortion providers can't bring a lawsuit against the Texas Attorney General. They can proceed with the suit against the executive directors of three state health boards, as well as Allison Benz, the executive commissioner of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.
The state of Mississippi asked the justices to overturn decades-old precedents supporting a constitutional right to abortion in a separate case.
The conservative majority on the court appeared ready to weaken the precedent over the objections of the three liberal justices.
The Constitution and its reading are seen as political acts by the public and will this institution survive the stench? asked liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor. I don't think it's possible.
The Biden administration and a group of abortion providers and advocates had their cases combined and put on a fast-track schedule for arguments.
Most abortions in the state are banned by the law because many women are not aware of their pregnancies until after the fetal heartbeat is detected.
There is an exemption for medical emergencies, but not for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest.
The right to an abortion before fetal viability is protected by the seminal 1973 abortion ruling, known as "Rose v. Wade."
S.B. 8 excludes state officials from being named in legal challenges to the ban before it is actually enforced.
Opponents said that the structure was designed to prevent judicial review. Some of the Supreme Court's conservatives appeared to agree during oral arguments.
The loophole has been exploited, said Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
The abortion law, the most restrictive in the nation, became a flashpoint for Supreme Court controversy even before the latest term officially kicked off when a slim majority declined to block the ban from taking effect in September.
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