The Supreme Court ruled Friday that abortion clinics may move forward with a challenge to the Texas ban on most abortions, a decision that puts the law in danger.
The court said the head of the state medical board and other licensing authorities could be sued before the law was enforced to test its constitutionality, the Wall Street Journal reports. While the justices said other state officials, including Attorney General Ken Paxton, couldn’t be sued, the opinion gives abortion providers the go-ahead to move forward with their challenge in federal district court.
As previously reported by Human Events News, the Texas law prevents abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy, saying that a physician is prohibited from knowingly performing an abortion if there is a “detectable fetal heartbeat.”
The law relies on citizens to file legal claims against abortion providers or anyone believed to perform or assist with an abortion.
When the law went into effect on September 1, the Supreme Court voted 5 to 4 to decline blocking it. Weeks later, the court moved to consider the two legal challenges and held fast-track oral arguments on November 1.
The court heard arguments in that litigation last week, with conservative justices sharply questioning the propriety of constitutional protections for abortion rights.
