Merrick Garland (AP)

  • US: Supreme Court does not block abortion law in Texas

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September 09, 2021 - Biden administration sues Texas over its controversial law banning abortion from week six, with no exceptions even in the case of rape or incest. This was announced by Justice Minister Merrick Garland, denouncing that the measure violates federal laws and is "clearly unconstitutional".



The president of the United States himself, Joe Biden, had attacked the law, assuring that the right to abortion "established almost fifty years ago" will be defended and protected by what he called the "radical law" which came into effect. Texas. 



Supreme Court Does Not Ruler

The Supreme Court of the United States had examined the law of Texas but had not come to a decision.



The High Court, very divided with four of its nine judges opposed to the decision, had not ruled on the constitutionality of the law, which had just entered into force, but had invoked "complex and new procedural issues".



The appeal to the Supreme Court had been presented urgently, close to the entry into force of a restrictive law on abortion in Texas, which prevents the recourse to termination of pregnancy after six weeks, even in the case of rape or incest.   



The decision was made thanks to the majority of 5 conservative judges, of which three were appointed by former President Donald Trump. The head of the Court, the moderate conservative John Robert, opposed it along with the three progressive magistrates.   



The law, signed last May by the Republican governor Greg Abbott, prohibits the voluntary termination of pregnancy from the moment in which the heartbeat of the embryo is perceptible, ie around the sixth week of pregnancy. According to supporters of the right to abortion, this amounts to an outright ban, given that very few women notice a pregnancy before six weeks, especially when it is unwanted. The only exception foreseen by the Texan provision, which was formulated in order to avoid the legal blockages imposed by the courts in other conservative states, is that of the danger to women's health.