Supreme Court Hears Arguments For Overturning New Texas Abortion Laws

The United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two cases Monday aimed ultimately at overturning the controversial Texas law that bans all abortions after detection of a fetal heartbeat, usually about six weeks.

The arguments lasted nearly three hours and, based on the line of questioning from the Justices, seem likely to result in a decision allowing the law to be challenged in federal court. Even if that is the ruling, it’s not clear at this point if the Court would temporarily halt enforcement of the law pending the outcome of those proceedings.

That would be a significant change from two months ago when, by a slim 5-4 vote, the Court’s conservative majority allowed the law, S.B. 8, to go into effect despite what most agree is its clear unconstitutionality. Both 1973’s Roe v. Wade and 1992’s Planned Parenthood v. Casey affirmed a woman’s right to an abortion before viability, which is generally considered to be at about 23 or 24 weeks of pregnancy.

But the law is novel in that it places enforcement of the abortion ban in the hands, not of the government, but of private citizens who are empowered – and financially incentivized -- under S.B. 8 to sue for $10,000 (and court costs) anyone who provides or assists a woman in getting an abortion after six weeks.

Both the federal government and the groups of abortion providers, which brought the cases heard today, argue that the law’s authors designed it to avoid federal judicial review.

“The interest of the U.S. here is the sovereign interest in assuring that states cannot flout the supremacy of federal law,” said U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, “by enacting a law that is clearly unconstitutional.”

Hundreds of advocates, both pro-life and pro-choice, were gathered in from the Court, alternately chanting slogans and listening to the arguments which were broadcast on loudspeakers.

Donna Dickinson, of Virginia, strongly opposes the law: “There’s no exceptions for rape, there’s no exceptions for incest, and with such an early time, many women don’t even have signals yet from their body that they are pregnant and it just seems, it just seems very unfair to people to force a pregnancy on them when they may have physical or financial reasons why this isn’t the time to raise a child.”

Kristen Day, the Executive Director of Democrats for Life was there in support of the Texas law: “One of the things that were most proud of Texas for is adding $100 million for pregnancy support and alternatives to abortion because as Democrats, we believe that life in the womb is precious but also outside the womb, so if you’re going to say that abortion is illegal after a heartbeat you have to provide the support to the women, options and alternatives.”