After a three-hour hearing this morning, a majority of the Supreme Court seemed to allow abortion providers to challenge the Texas abortion law in federal court.
The Texas law imposes the nation’s toughest abortion restrictions. It bans abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, when women may not realize they are pregnant. It also gives no exceptions for pregnancies resulting from incest or rape.
This morning’s hearing marks an important shift from a five-to-four ruling in September that allowed the law to go into effect.
Two conservative justices were key in this shift. Justices Brett M. Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, who were in the majority in the September ruling. Both expressed concerns this morning that the ban was designed to evade federal law and constitutional review.
Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh: It could be free speech rights. It could be free exercise of religion rights. It could be second amendment rights.
This is Justice Kavanaugh, who said “there was a loophole that’s been exploited.”
Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh: If this position is accepted here, the theory of the amicus brief is that it could be easily replicated in other states that disfavor other constitutional rights.
Allowing a challenge would not conclude the case or address whether the law is constitutional. It was not clear if the court would temporarily block the law while the case moved forward.