The Supreme Court green-lights a near-total abortion ban in Texas
Senate Bill 8 provides bounties for people to sue anyone who plays even a bit part in aiding an abortion
AT TWO MINUTES to midnight on September 1st, when the Supreme Court quietly let Senate Bill 8 go into effect, Texas became the most inhospitable state for a woman seeking an abortion. Challengers may still press their case. But in the meantime Senate Bill 8 prohibits abortion when a fetal heartbeat begins, at about six weeks’ gestation, and makes no exception for women who were impregnated via incest or rape. The law’s great peculiarity, though, is its enforcement mechanism, which is outsourced to anyone who espies someone “aiding or abetting” an abortion.
This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Roe on the ropes”
United States September 4th 2021
- How damaging has the Afghanistan withdrawal been to Joe Biden?
- Will America’s next war be declared by Congress or the president?
- The Supreme Court green-lights a near-total abortion ban in Texas
- Rural Colorado hopes to cash in on its dark skies
- American philanthropy turns left
- Storms and fires will not bring an escape from America’s stuck climate politics
From the September 4th 2021 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
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Donald Trump may find it harder to dominate America’s conversation
A more fragmented media is tougher to manage
An FBI sting operation catches Jackson’s mayor taking big bribes
What the sensational undoing of the black leader means for Mississippi’s failing capital
America’s rural-urban divide nurtures wannabe state-splitters
What’s behind a new wave of secessionism
Does Donald Trump have unlimited authority to impose tariffs?
Yes, but other factors could hold him back
As Jack Smith exits, Donald Trump’s allies hint at retribution
The president-elect hopes to hand the Justice Department to loyalists
Democratic states are preparing for Donald Trump’s return
But Mr Trump will be more prepared, too