The U.S. Supreme Court declines to block the abortion ban in Texas

WASHINGTON, Sept. 2 (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to block a Texas abortion ban after six weeks of pregnancy, causing a major blow to abortion rights and allowing a law banning the vast majority of abortions in the state. stay in place.

Judges by a vote of 5 to 4 denied an emergency request by abortion and women’s health providers for a court order banning the application of the ban, which went into effect Wednesday at first, while litigation continues in its demand to challenge its constitutionality.

The decision caused one of the court’s six Conservatives, Chief Justice John Roberts, to join the three dissenting Liberals.

“The court order is impressive,” Liberal Judge Sonia Sotomayor wrote in a dissenting opinion.

“Filed with a petition for a flagrantly unconstitutional law designed to ban women from exercising their constitutional rights and evade judicial scrutiny, most judges have chosen to bury their heads in the sand,” she added. .

The majority of the court, in an unsigned explanation, said the decision “is not based on any conclusion about the constitutionality of Texas law” and allows for progress against legal challenges.

The court’s action represents an important milestone in the fight against abortion, as opponents have tried for decades to regain access to the procedure and its legality.

The law would amount to an almost total ban on the procedure in Texas, as 85% to 90% of abortions are obtained after six weeks of pregnancy and would likely force many clinics to close, rights groups said. abortion.

This ban has never been allowed in any state since the Supreme Court ruled Roe against Wade, the decision that legalized abortion nationwide in 1973, they said.

Report by Lawrence Hurley; Edited by Christopher Cushing and Gerry Doyle

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