Supreme Court thwarts bid to block SB8 on 'dark day' for Texas abortion rights
ABC News
The Supreme Court acted on abortion providers' challenge to stay enforcement of Texas' controversial abortion ban after six weeks of pregnancy.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday said a narrowly tailored challenge to Texas’ near-total ban on abortions, SB8, could proceed in federal courts but declined for a second time to put the law on hold.
The decision, authored by Justice Neil Gorsuch, all but foreclosed hope for a sweeping federal court order halting SB8 enforcement in Texas, abortion rights advocates said.
"The threat of bounty-hunting suits will continue," said Julie Murray, an attorney with Planned Parenthood, a leading abortion provider.
SB8 outlaws abortions after six weeks of pregnancy and, in an unprecedented enforcement arrangement, deputizes everyday citizens to sue anyone who "aids or abets" an unlawful abortion in order to collect at least $10,000 in bounty.
