{"id":6028,"date":"2021-09-08T19:06:21","date_gmt":"2021-09-08T19:06:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lonecandle.com\/?p=6028"},"modified":"2021-09-08T19:06:21","modified_gmt":"2021-09-08T19:06:21","slug":"the-staggering-implications-of-the-supreme-courts-texas-anti-abortion-ruling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/?p=6028","title":{"rendered":"The staggering implications of the Supreme Court\u2019s Texas anti-abortion ruling"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\n\n“the Supreme Court allowed a Texas law that effectively bans all abortions after six weeks of pregnancy<\/a> to take effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twenty-four hours later, the Court released a brief, one-paragraph order<\/a> explaining why it did so \u2014 though it is a stretch to describe the Court\u2019s short and thinly reasoned order as an \u201cexplanation\u201d. The vote in Whole Woman\u2019s Health v. Jackson<\/em> was 5-4, with conservative Chief Justice John Roberts crossing over to vote with the three liberal justices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The implications of this order are breathtaking. The Texas law violates the precedent established in Planned Parenthood v. Casey<\/em><\/a> (1992), which protects \u201cthe right of the woman to choose to have an abortion before viability and to obtain it without undue interference from the state.\u201d The sixth week of gestation is so early in a pregnancy that many people aren\u2019t even aware they are pregnant<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At least 85 percent of abortions in Texas<\/a> take place after the sixth week of pregnancy, according to the abortion providers who sued to block Texas\u2019s law, SB 8. All of those abortions are now illegal in the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the implications of the Court\u2019s decision in Whole Woman\u2019s Health<\/em> stretch further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SB 8 relies on a highly unusual enforcement mechanism<\/a>. No state officer is permitted to enforce the statute. Instead, the law permits \u201cany person, other than an officer or employee of a state or local governmental entity in this state\u201d to file a lawsuit against an abortion provider or anyone who \u201caids or abets the performance or inducement of an abortion.\u201d A plaintiff who prevails in such a lawsuit is entitled to bounty of at least $10,000, paid by the person they sued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Justice Sonia Sotomayor explains in one of four<\/a> opinions filed by the dissenting justices, Texas lawmakers \u201cfashioned this scheme because federal constitutional challenges to state laws ordinarily are brought against state officers who are in charge of enforcing the law.\u201d So if no state officer can enforce the law, it is unclear whether anyone can be sued to block it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Supreme Court\u2019s order, joined by the five most conservative justices, effectively blesses this method of evading judicial review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if Texas can avoid a court order blocking its anti-abortion law by delegating enforcement of the law to private bounty hunters, so can any other state. Indeed, nothing in the Court\u2019s order prevents another state from passing a law banning all abortions \u2014 provided that the law is enforced using SB 8-style private lawsuits.”  
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Allowing a law to stand that violates the Supreme Court\u2019s 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey <\/em>decision means that the constitutional right to an abortion is effectively dead. States now have the power to ban abortion for the first time since the Roe v. Wade<\/em> ruling was handed down in 1973.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it is theoretically possible that the Court could reverse course in subsequent litigation and strike down SB 8, the sort of justices who would allow such a law to take effect are exceedingly unlikely to do so. And the Court is already planning to hear a case in its next term, Dobbs v. Jackson Women\u2019s Health Organization<\/em><\/a>, which it can use to overrule Roe<\/em> explicitly<\/a>.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The Court has now signaled that it will permit states to enact laws that were intentionally drafted to frustrate judicial review, at least if a majority of the Court agrees with what that law is trying to accomplish. And it handed down one of the most monumental decisions of our era \u2014 a decision effectively overturning Roe v. Wade<\/em> \u2014 in a shadow docket order that offers virtually no reasoning.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“With their decision in Whole Woman\u2019s Health<\/em>, the justices have unleashed a monster. If taken seriously, that decision would allow any state to subject any person or institution to an overwhelming wave of lawsuits that they cannot possibly defend against. SB 8 is a direct attack on the rule of law and the principle that everyone should have their day in court before<\/em> they are punished by the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s an attack on the 14th Amendment, which provides that no state may \u201cdeprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, of course, if a state were to target gun owners, or Alito, or anyone else the Supreme Court\u2019s most conservative justices approve of, the Court would almost certainly step in to protect a conservative litigant. Just last month, in Chrysafis v. Marks<\/em><\/a>, the Supreme Court blocked part of New York state\u2019s eviction moratorium because it \u201cdenies the landlord a hearing\u201d before that landlord is required to house an unwanted tenant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Supreme Court is quite protective of due process \u2014 when the right litigant seeks the Court\u2019s protection. One of the most disturbing things about\u00a0Whole Woman\u2019s Health<\/em>\u00a0is that it suggests the Court has abandoned its most fundamental principle: equal justice under law.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.vox.com\/22653779\/supreme-court-abortion-texas-sb8-whole-womans-health-jackson-roe-wade<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“the Supreme Court allowed a Texas law that effectively bans all abortions after six weeks of pregnancy to take effect.<\/p>\n

Twenty-four hours later, the Court released a brief, one-paragraph order explaining why it did so \u2014 though it is a stretch to describe the Court\u2019s short and thinly reasoned order as an \u201cexplanation\u201d. The vote in Whole Woman\u2019s Health v. Jackson was 5-4, with conservative Chief Justice John Roberts crossing over to vote with the three liberal justices.<\/p>\n

The implications of this order are breathtaking. The Texas law violates the precedent established in Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), which protects \u201cthe right of the woman to choose to have an abortion before viability and to obtain it without undue interference from the state.\u201d The sixth week of gestation is so early in a pregnancy that many people aren\u2019t even aware they are pregnant.<\/p>\n

At least 85 percent of abortions in Texas take place after the sixth week of pregnancy, according to the abortion providers who sued to block Texas\u2019s law, SB 8. All of those abortions are now illegal in the state.<\/p>\n

But the implications of the Court\u2019s decision in Whole Woman\u2019s Health stretch further.<\/p>\n

SB 8 relies on a highly unusual enforcement mechanism. No state officer is permitted to enforce the statute. Instead, the law permits \u201cany person, other than an officer or employee of a state or local governmental entity in this state\u201d to file a lawsuit against an abortion provider or anyone who \u201caids or abets the performance or inducement of an abortion.\u201d A plaintiff who prevails in such a lawsuit is entitled to bounty of at least $10,000, paid by the person they sued.<\/p>\n

As Justice Sonia Sotomayor explains in one of four opinions filed by the dissenting justices, Texas lawmakers \u201cfashioned this scheme because federal constitutional challenges to state laws ordinarily are brought against state officers who are in charge of enforcing the law.\u201d So if no state officer can enforce the law, it is unclear whether anyone can be sued to block it.<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court\u2019s order, joined by the five most conservative justices, effectively blesses this method of evading judicial review.<\/p>\n

But if Texas can avoid a court order blocking its anti-abortion law by delegating enforcement of the law to private bounty hunters, so can any other state. Indeed, nothing in the Court\u2019s order prevents another state from passing a law banning all abortions \u2014 provided that the law is enforced using SB 8-style private lawsuits.” <\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

“Allowing a law to stand that violates the Supreme Court\u2019s 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision means that the constitutional right to an abortion is effectively dead. States now have the power to ban abortion for the first time since the Roe v. Wade ruling was handed down in 1973.<\/p>\n

While it is theoretically possible that the Court could reverse course in subsequent litigation and strike down SB 8, the sort of justices who would allow such a law to take effect are exceedingly unlikely to do so. And the Court is already planning to hear a case in its next term, Dobbs v. Jackson Women\u2019s Health Organization, which it can use to overrule Roe explicitly.”<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

“The Court has now signaled that it will permit states to enact laws that were intentionally drafted to frustrate judicial review, at least if a majority of the Court agrees with what that law is trying to accomplish. And it handed down one of the most monumental decisions of our era \u2014 a decision effectively overturning Roe v. Wade \u2014 in a shadow docket order that offers virtually no reasoning.”<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

“With their decision in Whole Woman\u2019s Health, the justices have unleashed a monster. If taken seriously, that decision would allow any state to subject any person or institution to an overwhelming wave of lawsuits that they cannot possibly defend against. SB 8 is a direct attack on the rule of law and the principle that everyone should have their day in court before they are punished by the state.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an attack on the 14th Amendment, which provides that no state may \u201cdeprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.\u201d<\/p>\n

But, of course, if a state were to target gun owners, or Alito, or anyone else the Supreme Court\u2019s most conservative justices approve of, the Court would almost certainly step in to protect a conservative litigant. Just last month, in Chrysafis v. Marks, the Supreme Court blocked part of New York state\u2019s eviction moratorium because it \u201cdenies the landlord a hearing\u201d before that landlord is required to house an unwanted tenant.<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court is quite protective of due process \u2014 when the right litigant seeks the Court\u2019s protection. One of the most disturbing things about Whole Woman\u2019s Health is that it suggests the Court has abandoned its most fundamental principle: equal justice under law.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[521,431,528,21],"class_list":["post-6028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article-share","tag-abortion","tag-democracy","tag-supreme-court","tag-texas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6028"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6028\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6029,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6028\/revisions\/6029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}