U.S. Supreme Court Rules to Keep SB8 in Place, Allows Abortion Providers to Challenge It in Lower Court

After more than three months from the enactment of Texas State Senate Bill 8, today the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled to keep the law in place, while allowing abortion clinics to move forward with their legal challenge in the lower courts. The controversial law allows providers to sue over the state’s ban on most abortions starting at six weeks of pregnancy, aiming squarely at unraveling Roe v. Wade.

As Justice Sonia Sotomayor expressed in her dissent, “a majority of justices have opted to bury their heads in the sand” by refusing to block a law that so flagrantly violates a person’s constitutional rights. This law disproportionately impacts Black, Brown and Indigenous communities, and adds fuel to an already dangerous international anti-abortion and anti-women’s rights movement abroad. 

We will continue to stand vigilant and in solidarity with those working to fight against the codification of the assault against women’s autonomy over their own bodies and to fiercely advocate for universal sexual and reproductive health and rights, including access to safe abortion, for all.