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Thursday, in the early hours, the Supreme Court voted in favor of a highly controversial Texas law, which nearly bans all abortions in the state after 6 weeks — before many women even realize they’re pregnant.
As MADAMENOIRE previously reported, since 85-90% of all abortions in the state happen after the 6-week mark, Texas’ ban serves as the nation’s most restrictive legal measure against the termination of unwanted pregnancies. It blatantly ignores a woman’s right to choose and is in direct conflict with Roe V. Wade.
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The law, officially recognized as SB 8, was signed off on by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott back in May. It gives incentives to private citizens — regardless of where they’re based in the country — to report and/or sue Texans who’ve helped someone break the state’s law (such as driving someone to a clinic, providing them with money to get an abortion, etc.).
Those who proceed with civil lawsuits in state courts against Texans who’ve helped with abortions can be awarded a minimum of $10,000.
The law went into effect on September 1.
In a 5-4 vote on September 2, Chief Justice John Roberts joined liberal Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan is dissenting against the law.
Shortly after, all four dissenting Justices filed opinions on the ruling.
“The court’s order is stunning,” Justice Sotomayor wrote in her dissent, according to The New York Times. “Presented with an application to enjoin a flagrantly unconstitutional law engineered to prohibit women from exercising their constitutional rights and evade judicial scrutiny, a majority of justices have opted to bury their heads in the sand.”
“The court should not be so content to ignore its constitutional obligations to protect not only the rights of women, but also the sanctity of its precedents and of the rule of law,” she added.
Time reports that in Texas, “Other abortion laws are enforced by state and local officials [as well], with criminal sanctions possible.”
RELATED CONTENT: “New Texas Abortion Law Violates Reproductive Justice Rights, Especially For Black Women”
