August 31, 2021

"A Texas law that bans abortions anytime a fetal heartbeat is detected will 'immediately and catastrophically reduce abortion access in Texas' if it is allowed to take effect on Wednesday..."

"... a group of abortion providers told the Supreme Court on Monday. They asked the justices to intervene on an emergency basis and block the enforcement of the law while a challenge to its constitutionality is litigated in the lower courts.... [T]he Texas case that rocketed to the court on Monday, known as Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson, involves an abortion law that... bars doctors from performing abortions once they can detect a fetal heartbeat, including the kind of cardiac activity that occurs at roughly the sixth week of pregnancy. The law also allows private individuals to bring lawsuits against anyone who provides or 'aids and abets' an abortion. Individuals who bring successful lawsuits are entitled to collect $10,000 or more from individuals who are found to have violated the law.... Even Texas acknowledges that pre-viability bans on abortion conflict with Supreme Court precedent, the challengers argue...."

25 comments:

Mike Sylwester said...

The Texas law violates the US Constitution's emanations and penumbras.

rehajm said...

Standing. Laches. Moot.

farmgirl said...

What do u think would be a good term for children unwanted-for whatever reason- who would have been aborted, yet- due to this law are born and then loved beyond measure?

A gift.

wendybar said...

Murder is murder. Genocide is genocide.

Achilles said...

That is a perfectly valid law. A human law.

The religion of abortion will lose this fight.

gilbar said...

These Draconian america laws, i'm tired of them! We should have sensible abortion laws,
you know; like they have in europe... Where it is illegal to have an abortion after the 6th week

RMc said...

Is having fewer abortion really a catastrophe? (To anyone except people who make their livings off abortion, I mean?)

Jerry said...

Um...

We have how many different kinds of contraceptives these days? From the Pill in numerous configurations, to Depo-Provera's quarterly shot, to contraceptive implants, to IUDs, to condoms...

And yet there are still folks who can't figure out how not to get pregnant...

SMH.

Jeff Weimer said...

Democracy is good, except when it's Bad.

Greg The Class Traitor said...

So, it takes 5 "Justices" to approve a stay, 4 to get the case heard by SCOTUS.

I expect Roberts will pussy out, and provide the 4th vote for the stay. But it's not clear to me who would provide the 5th.

This should be really interesting.

And, if Roberts can't get to 5, I expect that he won't be part of any dissent on "failure to issue a stay".

We'll see.

Supreme Court Orders: https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/ordersofthecourt/20 (Last used 8/24 to deny a stay of order the Biden* Admin has to resume the MPP program)
Supreme Court Opinions: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/slipopinion/20 (Last used 8/26 to strike down the CDC's "Eviction Moratorium")

Drago said...

A law like this could really reduce a lucrative baby body parts revenue stream for the democraticals/LLR-democraticals.

Joe Smith said...

If you can't figure it out in 6 weeks you're not paying attention...

Greg The Class Traitor said...

"The abortion providers’ request goes first to Justice Samuel Alito, who handles emergency requests from Texas. Alito can act on the request on his own or, as is more common with high-profile requests, refer it to the full court."

I'm going to go out on a limb here, and guess that Alito won't be granting the abortion providers' request all by himself :-)

I'm so glad that Sotomayor doesn't handle the Texas cases

PB said...

Always the great questions. When does a human life have rights the state must protect? What life can be terminated, why and how?

cubanbob said...

I'm not clear on who decides when life has a personhood and is defensible, the federal government or the states? If it is the states then Texas made it's position rather clear. Viability has always been an odd marker if it only because it's fuzzy. Anyone on life support isn't really viable at that moment in time so are they no longer persons at that point in time? In addition since when does the government be required to subsidize an inherent right? Does the right to abortion override someone's unwillingness to provide it? Does the first amendment require I be provided with a platform?

What's emanating from your penumbra said...

The selfish people who support vaccine mandates and no-holds-barred abortions... smh

thesixdayrace said...

Hi Ann,

What did you think of the injunction request filed with Alito?

injunction request

Thanks! - maybe a post for tomorrow?

Greg The Class Traitor said...

Well, it's 10 PM East Coast Time, and no orders or opinions posted.

Good night all

Terry Ott said...


Blogger farmgirl said...
What do u think would be a good term for children unwanted-for whatever reason- who would have been aborted, yet- due to this law are born and then loved beyond measure?

Great question. My personal answer: my wonderful adopted youinger brother, who came into our family when he was 3 and I was 10. Now, I’m in my 70’s and he in his 60’s. He’s my only sibling. Both of our lives were made better because of having each other.

TomHynes said...

The law was written to be enforced by private lawsuits, not state action. I think that was to preclude federal jurisdiction. Please explain it like I am five.

Chuck said...

These comments are close to 100% emotional abortion trash talk.

Compared, that is, to an informed and intelligent observer of the Court like Ed Whelen (who just happens to be an anti-abortion conservative legal scholar).

https://mobile.twitter.com/EdWhelanEPPC/status/1433041823669395464

wendybar said...

Chuck doesn't think murder is murder. Nothing emotionally trash about it...other than when the dead babies bodies (what isn't sold for research) get dumped there.

Greg The Class Traitor said...

Chuck said...
These comments are close to 100% emotional abortion trash talk.

Wow, Chuck, for you, that's almost honest.

Of course, for anyone else it would be "totally wrong", since it's less than 1/2 that are "emotional" in any reasonable sense of the word. But for you, that fact that more than 0 of the comments are what you're calling "close to 100%" is at least a step in the right direction.

After all, 5% is "close to 100%", if you're looking from far enough away

Gemna said...

"If you can't figure it out in 6 weeks you're not paying attention..."

6 weeks actually dates from the first day of the woman's last period. The woman ovulates around 2 weeks. If a woman has a nice regular cycle, a missed period indicating pregnancy would be noticed around 4-5 weeks. There was a time I was regularly having cycles around 40-48 days, (6 weeks = 42 days).

After birth, miscarriage, and during breastfeeding, it is unknown when the cycle restarts. A woman knows its restarted when her period comes, but can get pregnant before that happens.

Greg The Class Traitor said...

Well, Gemma, there's these things called "Early Pregnancy tests". You can get 6 for $31 at Walmart. For that matter, you can use the Althouse Amazon Portal and buy them there.

If you're having unprotected sex, and plan to abort any babies you create, then you can use one test a month to make sure you're not pregnant.

If you can't afford the $60 / year for the EPTs, I'm pretty sure you won't be able to afford the abortion, so I'd suggest in the case that you avoid the unprotected sex.