Supreme Court reaffirms Texas fetal heartbeat law banning abortions after 6 weeks
SAN ANTONIO - Texas women seeking abortions beyond six weeks into their pregnancies received more bad news today when the U.S. Supreme Court issued a narrow ruling allowing the controversial Texas heartbeat law to remain in effect.
"The fact that they failed to strike down SB 8 means abortions are still inaccessible to millions of Texans," says Jennifer Driver, director of reproductive rights at the State Innovation Exchange in Washington D.C.
"We know for over three months Texans have been denied their medical freedom and constitutional right to privacy. Today’s decision by the courts restarts this convoluted legal process that has kept Texans in the dark."
At Planned Parenthood South Texas, reaction to the ruling was similar.
“Today, for the third time, the Supreme Court has failed Texans by allowing SB 8 to remain in effect. For 100 days the majority of people needing an abortion have had to travel hundreds of miles for essential health care or be forced to carry a pregnancy against their will," says Jeffrey Hons, president and CEO.
"While there is a narrow path forward, the High Court’s refusal to block this law that clearly violates the Court’s own precedent on abortion makes them complicit in the confusion and harm caused by S.B. 8. Texans deserve better.”
Not surprisingly, pro-life advocates are reacting differently.
"I’m very very happy. I’m so grateful for the Supreme Court to let this law stay in place," says Alejandra Dipp. "We save 100 babies a day."
Dipp, who works for San Antonio Coalition for Life, was outside Planned Parenthood South Texas today trying to talk to people as they entered the facility.
She and her colleague John Love want women to get free pregnancy tests and other services at alternative locations as the various legal cases wind their way through the court system.
"If it was a state law that was just like any other law, then it would be a lot easier for everyone to understand," says Love, who has an even more ambitious objective.
"The first goal would be no abortions in San Antonio," he says. "Then I’d like to see South Texas, then Texas, then the nation as a whole. I feel like that’s not reasonable due to even if any sort of law is passed it will just be a states rights issue."
The legal fight still has months if not years ahead as the issue plays out in Texas and across the nation.
"Access to abortion is already a barrier. It’s especially true for Black, Latino, Indigenous communities, rural communities. People who are just trying to make ends meet," Driver says.
"We won’t stop fighting until abortion access is a reality for everyone in this country."
