Skip to content
Center for Reproductive Rights
Center for Reproductive Rights

Primary Menu

  • About
    • Overview
    • Center Leadership & Staff
    • Pro Bono Program
    • Creative Council
    • Annual Reports
    • Contact Us
    • Careers
    • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
  • Work
    • Overview
    • Litigation
    • Legal Policy and Advocacy
    • Resources & Research
    • Recent Case Highlights
    • Landmark Cases
    • World’s Abortion Laws Map
    • What if Roe Fell? U.S. Abortion Laws Map
  • Issues
    • Overview
    • Abortion
    • Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
    • Assisted Reproduction
    • Contraception
    • Humanitarian Settings
    • Maternal Health
    • COVID-19
  • Regions
    • Overview
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • Latin America and the Caribbean
    • United States
    • Global Advocacy
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Center in the Spotlight
    • Events
    • Press Releases
    • Press Room
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Resources & Research
    • World Abortion Laws Map
    • What if Roe Fell? U.S. Abortion Laws Map
    • Take Action Toolkit
  • Act
    • Overview
    • Give
    • Act
    • Learn
  • Donate
    • Make a Gift Now
    • Be a Champion
    • Join the Advocates Council
    • Become a Major Donor
    • Give Through Your Donor-Advised Fund
    • Make a Gift In Honor
    • Attend an Event
    • Leave a Legacy
    • More Ways to Give
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
Donate
icon-hamburger icon-magnifying-glass Donate
icon-magnifying-glass-teal
Center for Reproductive Rights - Center for Reproductive Rights - search logo
search Close Close icon
Center for Reproductive Rights -
Menu Close Menu Close icon
Donate

Primary Menu

  • About
    • Overview
    • Center Leadership & Staff
    • Pro Bono Program
    • Creative Council
    • Annual Reports
    • Contact Us
    • Careers
    • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
  • Work
    • Overview
    • Litigation
    • Legal Policy and Advocacy
    • Resources & Research
    • Recent Case Highlights
    • Landmark Cases
    • World’s Abortion Laws Map
    • What if Roe Fell? U.S. Abortion Laws Map
  • Issues
    • Overview
    • Abortion
    • Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
    • Assisted Reproduction
    • Contraception
    • Humanitarian Settings
    • Maternal Health
    • COVID-19
  • Regions
    • Overview
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • Latin America and the Caribbean
    • United States
    • Global Advocacy
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Center in the Spotlight
    • Events
    • Press Releases
    • Press Room
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Resources & Research
    • World Abortion Laws Map
    • What if Roe Fell? U.S. Abortion Laws Map
    • Take Action Toolkit
  • Act
    • Overview
    • Give
    • Act
    • Learn
  • Donate
    • Make a Gift Now
    • Be a Champion
    • Join the Advocates Council
    • Become a Major Donor
    • Give Through Your Donor-Advised Fund
    • Make a Gift In Honor
    • Attend an Event
    • Leave a Legacy
    • More Ways to Give
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn

Related Content

Issues:

Abortion, Legal Restrictions

Regions:

United States

Work:

In the Courts

Type:

News, Story

Case Archive

For updates on this case and others, explore our case archive here.

Follow the Center

Donate Now

Join Now

  • Hidden

10.22.2021

In the Courts Abortion United States Story

U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Arguments on Texas’s Extreme Abortion Ban

Virginia Sobol
Court grants emergency requests by the Center and the DOJ and schedules arguments for November 1—but it fails to block the Texas law for now.

Share this Story

  • facebook
  • Twitter
  • linkedin
  • Email id

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review Texas’s extreme abortion ban—and will do so on an expedited basis.

In response to emergency requests by the Center for Reproductive Rights and the U.S. Department of Justice to review the ban, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in both cases in less than two weeks, on November 1.

However, the Court declined to rule on a request to block the Texas law, S.B. 8, before the November 1 argument date. The ban—which prohibits abortion care after approximately six weeks of pregnancy—remains in effect pending the Court’s ruling in the cases. The law took effect September 1 and has ended almost all abortion access in the state.

“…the State (empowered by this Court’s inaction) has so thoroughly chilled the exercise of the right recognized in Roe as to nearly suspend it within its borders and strain access to it in other States. The State’s gambit has worked. The impact is catastrophic.”

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, commenting on the Supreme Court’s refusal to block the law immediately

Texas law S.B. 8, designed to skirt judicial review, also incentivizes individuals—including anti-abortion activists—to seek monetary penalties of at least $10,000 by suing anyone who provides an abortion or assists someone in obtaining one after the law’s limit. The law was enacted in direct violation of Roe v. Wade, which recognized the right to pre-viability abortion.

Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement:

“The Supreme Court’s action today brings us one step closer to the restoration of Texans’ constitutional rights and an end to the havoc and heartache of this ban. We are enormously disappointed that the Court has left the law in effect for now, forcing those with means to leave the state to access constitutionally protected abortion services and leaving others with no options at all. However, we are confident that when the Court ultimately rules in these cases, it will reject the state of Texas’ cynical ploy to enact a brazenly unconstitutional abortion ban.”

Supreme Court to Hear Arguments in Cases from Both the Center and the DOJ

The Court will hear arguments in two cases challenging the Texas law: one by the Center and its partners, Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson, and one by the Department of Justice, United States v. Texas.

Read more about the case here.

Whole Woman's Health v. JacksonWhole Woman’s Health v. Jackson link

Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson

In Whole Woman’s Health et al. v. Jackson et al., filed in July to block the law from taking effect, the Center and its partners are representing Texas abortion providers led by Whole Woman’s Health and other independent abortion clinics, doctors, clinic staff, abortion funds, support networks, and clergy members. In this case, the Supreme Court will decide whether federal courts have the power to block Texas’s abortion ban, which prohibits the exercise of a constitutional right, by delegating to the general public the authority to enforce that prohibition through civil actions. In September, the Supreme Court had refused to block the law before it took effect, citing “complex and novel” procedural questions about whether it has the authority to do so. Today’s order means that the Court has agreed to hear arguments on those procedural questions. 

In United States v. Texas, filed in September, the U.S. Department of Justice challenged the Texas law because S.B. 8 attempts to nullify the federal Constitution. In early October, a federal district court granted the DOJ’s request to temporarily block the law, but an appellate court let the law take effect again less than 48 hours later. The Supreme Court will decide both whether to reinstate the order blocking the law and whether the United States government has the authority to bring this case against the State of Texas to prevent its state court judges, state court clerks, other state officials, and private parties from enforcing S.B. 8.

With the November 1 argument at the Supreme Court in Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson, the Center will be arguing two major abortion rights cases this term. On December 1, the Center will argue against a Mississippi abortion ban in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

Audio of both arguments will be streamed live on the Supreme Court’s website.

Tags: Texas abortion ban, Whole Woman's Health v Jackson, Texas SB 8

Related Posts

Center Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Block Texas Law That Would Prohibit Almost All Abortion Care in the State

The Center and its partners today filed an emergency request with the U.S. Supreme Court to block Texas's radical new abortion ban before it takes effect September 1.

Abortion,United States,In the Courts
Center Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Block Texas Law That Would Prohibit Almost All Abortion Care in the State

Whole Woman’s Health v. Paxton: Ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals

This ruling upheld a Texas ban on the standard procedure for abortion care after about 14-15 weeks. Read the full...

Abortion,United States,In the Courts

Texas Abortion Ban Takes Effect, Ending Almost All Abortion Care in the State

The Center and its partners await action by the U.S. Supreme Court on its emergency request to stop the law...

Abortion, Legal Restrictions,United States,In the Courts
Texas Abortion Ban Takes Effect, Ending Almost All Abortion Care in the State

Sign up for our newsletter.

The most up-to-date news on reproductive rights, delivered straight to you.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Footer Menu

  • Careers
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us

Center for Reproductive Rights
© (1992-2021)

Use of this site signifies agreement with our disclaimer and privacy policy.

Center for Reproductive Rights
This site uses necessary, analytics and social media cookies to improve your experience and deliver targeted advertising. Click "Options" or click here to learn more and customize your cookie settings, otherwise please click "Accept" to proceed.
OPTIONSACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gat_UA-6619340-11 minuteNo description
_gid1 dayThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the wbsite is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages viisted in an anonymous form.
_parsely_session30 minutesThis cookie is used to track the behavior of a user within the current session.
HotJar: _hjAbsoluteSessionInProgress30 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjFirstSeen30 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjid1 yearThis cookie is set by Hotjar. This cookie is set when the customer first lands on a page with the Hotjar script. It is used to persist the random user ID, unique to that site on the browser. This ensures that behavior in subsequent visits to the same site will be attributed to the same user ID.
HotJar: _hjIncludedInPageviewSample2 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjIncludedInSessionSample2 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjTLDTestsessionNo description
SSCVER1 year 24 daysThe domain of this cookie is owned by Nielsen. The cookie is used for online advertising by creating user profile based on their preferences.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
CookieDurationDescription
_fbp3 monthsThis cookie is set by Facebook to deliver advertisement when they are on Facebook or a digital platform powered by Facebook advertising after visiting this website.
fr3 monthsThe cookie is set by Facebook to show relevant advertisments to the users and measure and improve the advertisements. The cookie also tracks the behavior of the user across the web on sites that have Facebook pixel or Facebook social plugin.
IDE1 year 24 daysUsed by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile.
IMRID1 year 24 daysThe domain of this cookie is owned by Nielsen. The cookie is used for storing the start and end of the user session for nielsen statistics. It helps in consumer profiling for online advertising.
personalization_id2 yearsThis cookie is set by twitter.com. It is used integrate the sharing features of this social media. It also stores information about how the user uses the website for tracking and targeting.
TDID1 yearThe cookie is set by CloudFare service to store a unique ID to identify a returning users device which then is used for targeted advertising.
test_cookie15 minutesThis cookie is set by doubleclick.net. The purpose of the cookie is to determine if the user's browser supports cookies.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
CookieDurationDescription
adEdition1 dayNo description
akaas_MSNBC10 daysNo description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional1 yearThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others1 yearNo description
geoEdition1 dayNo description
next-i18next1 yearNo description
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo
Scroll Up