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 The court, with a 6-3 conservative majority, also raised questions
about how it will rule on a more sweeping upcoming case that could
curb abortion rights nationwide, as it left in place the ban
https://www.reuters.com/world/
us/texas-abortion-ban-opens-up-wild-west-enforcement-critics-say-2021-09-02
on abortion after the sixth week of pregnancy.
Texas' ban has so far survived legal challenges partly because of an
unusual feature that leaves enforcement up to individual citizens,
who could collect cash bounties of at least $10,000 for bringing
successful lawsuits against women who seek abortion after their
sixth week of pregnancy or those who help them.
Civil rights advocates warned that concept could cause havoc
https://www.reuters.com/
world/us/texas-abortion-ban-opens-up-wild-west-enforcement-critics-say-2021-09-02
if it is adopted by other states or applied to other contentious
rights, such as gun ownership.
"It unleashes unconstitutional chaos and empowers self-anointed
enforcers to have devastating impacts," Biden, a Democrat, said in a
statement directing federal agencies to act to protect the right to
abortion enshrined in the high court's landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade
decision. "Complete strangers will now be empowered to inject
themselves in the most private and personal health decisions faced
by women."
By a 5-4 vote, the justices late on Wednesday denied an emergency
request by abortion and women's health providers for an injunction
on enforcement of the ban while litigation continues.
The ban took effect early on Wednesday and prohibits abortion at a
point when many women do not even realize they are pregnant. The law
could still be blocked at some other stage.
The law would amount to a near-total ban on the procedure in Texas -
the second-most-populous U.S. state - as 85% to 90% of abortions are
obtained after six weeks of pregnancy, and would probably force many
clinics to close, abortion rights groups said.
'STUNNING'
One of the court's six conservatives, Chief Justice John Roberts,
joined its three liberals in dissent.
"The court's order is stunning," liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor
wrote in a dissenting opinion.
"Presented with an application to enjoin a flagrantly
unconstitutional law engineered to prohibit women from exercising
their constitutional rights and evade judicial scrutiny, a majority
of justices have opted to bury their heads in the sand."
In an unsigned explanation, the court's majority said the Texas
law's unusual construction - leaving enforcement to individuals
bringing lawsuits - limited its ability to act and that its decision
was not a reflection of the ultimate constitutionality of the law.
"Federal courts enjoy the power to enjoin individuals tasked with
enforcing laws, not the laws themselves," the court said. "This
order is not based on any conclusion about the constitutionality of
Texas’s law, and in no way limits other procedurally proper
challenges to the Texas law, including in Texas state courts."
A majority of Americans believe abortion should be legal in the
United States, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling. In a June survey
https://www.reuters.com/world/
us/plurality-americans-would-strike-down-mississippi-abortion-ban-2021-06-24,
some 52% said it should be legal in most or all cases, with just 36%
saying it should be illegal in most or all cases.
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 The Republican president of
Florida's state Senate, Wilton Simpson, told
local station WFLY-TV on Thursday that he
planned to follow Texas' lead and bring up a
similar abortion ban in the chamber's next
session. "This law will begin
saving the lives of tens of thousands of Texas babies and we look
forward to the day that babies’ lives will be spared across
America," said Carol Tobias, president of the anti-abortion National
Right to Life Committee.
Biden, a Roman Catholic who has shifted to the left on abortion in
recent years, said the White House would look at what steps the
Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of
Justice can take to respond to the Texas law. The Office of the
White House Counsel and Biden's Gender Policy Council will also
review the matter.
POLARIZING ISSUE
Abortion remains a deeply polarizing issue, with a majority of
Democrats supporting abortion rights and most Republicans opposing
them. The number of abortions reported to the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention has dropped in recent decades, to
roughly 620,000 in 2018, the most recent figures, down from 790,000
in 2009.
Congress has the power to legalize abortion nationwide, and House of
Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi blasted the Texas law and vowed
to take up a bill to do so when Congress returns later this month.
"Its purpose is to destroy Roe v. Wade, and even refuses to make
exceptions for cases of rape and incest," Pelosi said. "This ban
necessitates codifying Roe v. Wade."
Democrats hold narrow majorities in Congress, but passage in the
House would not guarantee success in the Senate, which requires 60
of its 100 members to agree on most legislation. Democrats hold 50
seats in that chamber, with Vice President Kamala Harris holding a
tie-breaking vote.
The court decision illustrates the impact of Republican former
President Donald Trump's three conservative appointees to the
nation's highest court, who have tilted it further to the right. All
were in the majority.
A ban like Texas' has never been permitted in any state since the
Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade.
Texas is among a dozen mostly Republican-led states to ban the
procedure once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, often at six
weeks.
Courts had previously blocked such bans, citing Roe v. Wade.
The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments in the coming months
in a case centering on Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban, in which
the state has asked the justices to overturn Roe v. Wade. A ruling
is due by the end of June 2022.
(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley, Additional reporting by Susan
Cornwell; Editing by Scott Malone, Peter Cooney and Rosalba O'Brien)
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