| Translate This News In |
|---|
The Supreme Court strikes another setback to Texas abortion providers who want the new legislation to be overturned.
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority, despite the vehement protestations of its liberal colleagues, struck another blow to Texas abortion clinics’ efforts to appeal SB8 in federal court on Thursday.
SB8, which went into effect on September 1, prohibited the majority of abortions in the nation’s second-most populous state, despite established legal precedence guaranteeing access to the operation.
The majority has now rejected the providers’ “petition for mandamus,” which asked the justices to require the case to be quickly assigned to a trial judge so that hearings could begin.
The conservative justices did not go into detail about their conclusion.
The providers contended that the 5th Circuit panel, one of the most conservative in the country, has been impeding the process by defying the Supreme Court’s decision last year, which voted 8-1 to allow a narrow suit against several Texas medical licensing officials who play a role in enforcing the law.
Instead, the appeals court referred the case to the Texas state Supreme Court for a procedural review, delaying the providers’ challenge and essentially freezing any prospect for relief.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in a separate vehement dissent: “This case is a tragedy for the rule of law and a terrible injustice to Texas women, who have the right to regulate their own bodies. I will not remain silent while a state continues to violate this constitutional protection.”
While the Supreme Court’s decision is another blow for Texas abortion rights proponents, many have publicly admitted that even if they won, the narrow litigation was unlikely to restore comprehensive abortion access in the state.
