Court Rules Against Womens Challenge To Six Week Abortion Ban

Texas Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Abortion Laws

Court Rules Against Women's Challenge to Six-Week Abortion Ban

Supreme Court Decides Abortion Providers Can Challenge Texas Law

Updated: 8:27 AM PDT May 31, 2024

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - The Texas Supreme Court on Friday ruled against a challenge to the state's abortion law that bars the procedure after the first six weeks of pregnancy. The court ruled that abortion providers do not have standing to sue because they cannot show that they have been harmed by the law.

The decision is a significant blow to abortion rights in Texas and will likely lead to further legal challenges. It is also the latest in a series of restrictive abortion laws that have been passed in recent years. According to the Guttmacher Institute, more than 100 abortion restrictions were enacted in 2021, the most in any year since Roe v. Wade.

The Texas law, known as S.B. 8, was passed in May 2021. It bans abortions after six weeks, a point at which many women do not yet know they are pregnant. The law also allows private citizens to sue abortion providers or anyone who helps a woman obtain an abortion after six weeks.

Abortion providers and advocates argue that the law is unconstitutional and violates Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion nationwide in 1973. They also say that the law is harmful to women because it forces them to travel out of state to obtain an abortion or to carry their pregnancies to term against their will.

The Texas Supreme Court's decision is a setback for abortion rights advocates, but it is unlikely to be the last word on the matter. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on a Mississippi abortion law that is similar to the Texas law later this year. That decision could have a significant impact on abortion rights in the United States.