Supreme Court declines to block Texas’ restrictive abortion law, dealing a blow to Roe v. Wade

A divided Supreme Court late Wednesday declined to block a restrictive Texas law banning abortions after a fetal cardiac activity can be detected, or as early as six weeks into pregnancy, and allowing anyone in the U.S. to sue abortion providers or others who help women get the procedure after that time frame.

The vote was 5-4, with Chief Justice John Roberts dissenting alongside the three liberal Justices Elaina Kagan, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor. Each wrote a separate opinion opposing the majority decision.

The lack of action by the nation’s high court deals a blow to Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion nationally, essentially legalizing the law’s language incentivizing private litigation to cripple abortion care and support services.

The law, known as Senate Bill 8, went into effect at midnight Wednesday, after the Supreme Court did not take immediate action to block it. Abortion rights advocates say the measure is the most restrictive anti-abortion law in years, with provisions that amount to a near-total ban on abortion in the state.