- The new law, which took effect on Sept. 1 in Texas, bans abortion at 6 weeks when a fetal heartbeat can be detected.
- The bill makes no exceptions for pregnancies that resulted from rape or incest.
- The Supreme Court is hearing another case in Mississippi on the state’s 15-week abortion ban.
A Texas law banning abortion at 6 weeks, which is before most people even realize they’re pregnant or have missed a period, officially took effect on Wednesday, Sept. 1, months after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed it last May.
Until September 2021, Texas permitted abortions up to 20 weeks. After 20 weeks pregnant people could get an abortion only if they had a life-threatening medical condition or the fetus had a severe abnormality.
The U.S. Supreme Court did not rule on the constitutionality of the law before it took effect.
On Wednesday in a 5 to 4 decision, the court voted against blocking the implementation of the law before legal challenges could be heard in court. This vote does not decide if the law is constitutional or not, just that it can be implemented before the full case is heard in court.
This is not the only reproductive rights case being heard by the Supreme Court. The court is also hearing an abortion case in Mississippi — Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization — regarding the state’s law that bans abortions after 15 weeks.
Depending on the decision, the court will either reaffirm or overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that protects the constitutional right to have an abortion.
If Roe v. Wade were to be overturned, more states may sign restrictive and extreme laws blocking access to abortions. Just in 2021 at least 90 state laws have been passed that restrict access to abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organization committed to advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Source: healthline