Texas law banning abortions after six weeks, when an ultrasound can detect a fetal heartbeat, went into effect just after midnight. The law would rule out 85% of abortions and in Texas including cases of rape and incest.
Supreme Court precedents forbids States from Banning abortion before a fetal heartbeat is detected, however their failure to stop Texas from passing anti-abortion legislation has effectively overturn Roe v Wade and opens the doors for at least seven other states to follow and pass legislation.
The law also states that anyone who provides assistance to a woman seeking an abortion can be sued and plaintiffs are entitled to $10,000 in Damages. It allows private citizens to sue violators of the ban and encourages them to report them to police.
“In less than two days, Texas politicians will have effectively overturned Roe v. Wade. We have filed an emergency motion in the Supreme Court to block this law before clinics are forced to turn patients away,” Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement.
Abortion providers appealed to the Supreme Court to step in immediately to block the state law. Justice Samuel Alito gave taxes until 5 p.m. on Tuesday 2 presents an argument for rejecting the abortion providers request.
“This is a racial and economic justice catastrophe. Decades of racism and structural inequality within the health care system have left Black and Latinx people and anyone trying to make ends meet with few alternatives to the cruel reality that Texas politicians have created,” the organization added. “This is a full-scale assault on patients, our health care providers, and our support systems. This abortion ban is blatantly unconstitutional. We won’t stop fighting until it’s blocked.”
