The United States Supreme Court announced on Friday, October 22, that it would review the 1is November Texas anti-abortion law. Until then, this law will remain in force, the highest court in the country refusing to suspend the application of the text.
The administration of President Joe Biden had seized Monday the Supreme Court in order to block this law which prohibits abortion as soon as the heartbeat of the embryo is detectable, that is to say around six weeks of pregnancy, when most women do not yet know that they are pregnant. The text does not provide for an exception in cases of incest or rape.
The United States Supreme Court has guaranteed since 1973 and the iconic Roe decision vs Wade the right of women to have an abortion, and then clarified that it applied as long as the fetus is not viable, that is to say around 22 weeks of pregnancy.
But the text of Texas has a unique device: it confides “Exclusively” it is up to citizens to ensure that the measure is respected by encouraging them to file a complaint against organizations or people who help women to have abortions. Under Texas law, people bringing complaints against people facilitating abortions beyond six weeks can receive at least $ 10,000 in “Compensation” in case of conviction.
Six out of nine Conservative judges
The Supreme Court, where the Conservative judges have a majority, had already been seized for the first time and had therefore invoked these “New questions of procedure” to refuse, the 1is September, to block the entry into force of the law. President Biden then blasted this decision with strong words, calling it a “Insult to the rule of law” causing the « chaos ». The federal government then entered the legal arena, filing a lawsuit on its behalf against Texas.
The Supreme Court’s position in this case was seen as a ” right turn “ of the high court, which has six conservative judges out of nine, including three appointed by Donald Trump. On October 2, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of America to defend the right to abortion.
Sonia Sotomayor, one of three judges appointed by a Democratic president, opposed the decision announced on Friday, arguing that the Supreme Court should have immediately suspended the upcoming law “In open contradiction to the constitutional rights of women seeking abortions in Texas”.
On October 6, a trial judge suspended the law, pending a review on the merits. “This court will not allow this shocking deprivation of such an important right to continue one more day”, wrote federal judge Robert Pitman. Some clinics then resumed abortions beyond six weeks.
But Texas Attorney General Republican Ken Paxton appealed to New Orleans federal court, known to be one of the most conservative in the country, which ruled in her favor: two days later, she overturned Justice Pitman’s decision.
In recent years, laws comparable to the one put in place in Texas have been adopted by a dozen other conservative states and struck down in court because they violated the jurisprudence introduced by the Roe decision. vs Wade.
The United States Supreme Court announced on Friday, October 22, that it would review the 1is November Texas anti-abortion law. Until then, this law will remain in force, the highest court in the country refusing to suspend the application of the text.
The administration of President Joe Biden had seized Monday the Supreme Court in order to block this law which prohibits abortion as soon as the heartbeat of the embryo is detectable, that is to say around six weeks of pregnancy, when most women do not yet know that they are pregnant. The text does not provide for an exception in cases of incest or rape.
The United States Supreme Court has guaranteed since 1973 and the iconic Roe decision vs Wade the right of women to have an abortion, and then clarified that it applied as long as the fetus is not viable, that is to say around 22 weeks of pregnancy.
But the text of Texas has a unique device: it confides “Exclusively” it is up to citizens to ensure that the measure is respected by encouraging them to file a complaint against organizations or people who help women to have abortions. Under Texas law, people bringing complaints against people facilitating abortions beyond six weeks can receive at least $ 10,000 in “Compensation” in case of conviction.
Six out of nine Conservative judges
The Supreme Court, where the Conservative judges have a majority, had already been seized for the first time and had therefore invoked these “New questions of procedure” to refuse, the 1is September, to block the entry into force of the law. President Biden then blasted this decision with strong words, calling it a “Insult to the rule of law” causing the « chaos ». The federal government then entered the legal arena, filing a lawsuit on its behalf against Texas.
The Supreme Court’s position in this case was seen as a ” right turn “ of the high court, which has six conservative judges out of nine, including three appointed by Donald Trump. On October 2, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of America to defend the right to abortion.
Sonia Sotomayor, one of three judges appointed by a Democratic president, opposed the decision announced on Friday, arguing that the Supreme Court should have immediately suspended the upcoming law “In open contradiction to the constitutional rights of women seeking abortions in Texas”.
On October 6, a trial judge suspended the law, pending a review on the merits. “This court will not allow this shocking deprivation of such an important right to continue one more day”, wrote federal judge Robert Pitman. Some clinics then resumed abortions beyond six weeks.
But Texas Attorney General Republican Ken Paxton appealed to New Orleans federal court, known to be one of the most conservative in the country, which ruled in her favor: two days later, she overturned Justice Pitman’s decision.
In recent years, laws comparable to the one put in place in Texas have been adopted by a dozen other conservative states and struck down in court because they violated the jurisprudence introduced by the Roe decision. vs Wade.