Today in a series of decisions on the devastating abortion ban Texas Senate Bill 8 (S.B. 8), the Supreme Court of the United States offered no relief from the ban. It will remain in effect as providers attempt to go back to the lower courts to keep their case moving forward.
President and CEO of Physicians for Reproductive Health and ob/gyn in D.C. Dr. Jamila Perritt responds:
“We are deeply disappointed that S.B. 8 continues to be in effect as the U.S. Supreme Court declined to stop enforcement of this blatantly unconstitutional abortion ban. As PRH Board Member Dr. Ghazaleh Moayedi of Texas stated when she testified before Congress: ‘The impact of this law is devastating. It is terrifying.’
For over 100 days, people in Texas have been systematically denied access to abortion care by S.B. 8, which bans abortion at about 6 weeks of pregnancy, effectively overturning Roe v. Wade in Texas. Abortion, already out of reach for too many, is out of reach for most everyone in the state.
This situation is unconscionable
This situation is unconscionable and we implore the lower courts to act immediately to block this callous law.
That this law disproportionately impacts communities who have been marginalized, including those living on low incomes, young people, and communities of color, was intentional. Abortion bans perpetuate this country’s long and shameful history of reproductive coercion and control. It puts all of our health and lives at risk.
Today’s decision, coupled with last week’s oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, is extremely concerning. The constitutional right to have an abortion is not an abstract political or legal issue; it plays out every day in across the country as people make decisions about their health, autonomy and dignity. We urgently need Congress and President Biden to take action to protect access to abortion care by passing and signing the Women’s Health Protection Act. Abortion is health care. The patients my colleagues and I serve deserve to make their own decisions about their pregnancies, free of political interference and manipulation. Texans deserve better. We all deserve better.”