Abortion providers on Thursday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on a legal challenge to Texas’ new abortion law.
Even though the case is proceeding through a lower court and the justices voted only three weeks ago to deny the abortion groups’ emergency request to intervene, the groups said that the justices’ intervention was ”urgently needed,” since abortion access in Texas has been greatly reduced since the law took effect at the beginning of September.
Amy Hagstrom Miller, head of Whole Woman’s Health, a group challenging the law, also known as S.B. 8, said: ”For 23 days, we’ve been forced to deny essential abortion care for the vast majority of patients who come to us. Most of those we’ve turned away told us they would not be able to make it out of Texas for care.
”This chaos must come to an end, and that is why we are going back to the Supreme Court today.”
S.B. 8 outlaws abortion after fetal cardiac activity can be detected, which is usually six weeks into a pregnancy, and allows private citizens to bring lawsuits against anyone who aids or performs an abortion. A successful lawsuit would provide at least $10,000.
The case is pending before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. According to The Hill, the court will not hear it until at least December.
