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Last month, more than 20 other states, mostly run by Democrats, had urged the lower court to throw out the law. On Wednesday, 18 state attorneys generals from mostly GOP-controlled states threw new support behind the Texas law, urging the court to let the restrictions stand while accusing the federal government of overstepping in bringing the challenge in the first place. Wade decision that guarantees a woman’s right to an abortion. In December, the new conservative majority on the Supreme Court will hear Mississippi’s bid to overturn the landmark Roe v. Kimberlyn Schwartz, a spokeswoman, said Thursday the group expected the Biden administration to go to the Supreme Court next and was “confident Texas will ultimately defeat these attacks on our life-saving efforts.”Īlready the stakes are high in the coming months over the future of abortion rights in the U.S. Texas Right to Life, the state's largest anti-abortion group, set up a tip line to receive allegations against abortion providers but has not filed any lawsuits.
In addition to reviewing decisions of lower courts, the Supreme Court, as the head of the Judicial Branch of Government, has general administrative and supervisory authority over all State courts and attorney regulation. Texas had roughly two dozen abortion clinics before the law took effect, and operators have said some may be forced to close if the restrictions stay in place for much longer. The New Mexico Supreme Court is the State’s highest court and final court of review (court of last resort). Only once has a court moved to put the restrictions on hold - and that order stood for just 48 hours.ĭuring that brief window, some Texas clinics rushed to perform abortions on patients past six weeks, but many more appointments were canceled after the 5th Circuit moved to swiftly reinstate the restrictions last week.
Anyone who brings a successful lawsuit against an abortion provider for violating the law is entitled to claim at least $10,000 in damages, which the Biden administration says amounts to a bounty. But Texas’ law has outmaneuvered courts so far because it offloads enforcement to private citizens. Circuit Court of Appeals a “testament that we are on the right side of the law and life."Ī 1992 decision by the Supreme Court prevented states from banning abortion before viability, the point at which a fetus can survive outside the womb, around 24 weeks of pregnancy. The Texas Attorney General's Office called Thursday night's decision by the 5th U.S. The court already once allowed the restrictions to take effect, but did so without ruling on the law's constitutionality.