Texas’ law banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy took effect at midnight on September 1. Lawsuits are currently pending, but for now, clinics must comply with the six-week ban.
Whole Woman’s Health, one abortion provider in the state that was named in the joint plea to the Supreme Court by providers to block the law, was still providing abortions within minutes before midnight, CEO Amy Hagstrom Miller told reporters on Wednesday.
The law also empowers private citizens to sue anyone they believe may have “aided or abetted” someone getting an abortion after six weeks, which has caused confusion.
Under the law, Senate Bill 8, patients themselves cannot be sued for seeking an abortion — but providers and anyone who helps them are fair game.
Here’s what you need to know now that the law has taken effect.
What does this mean for abortion access right now?
- The four Texas clinics overseen by Whole Woman’s Health are still open as of Wednesday and are providing services in compliance with SB 8, including ultrasounds and abortion services in cases where the pregnancy does not have embryonic or fetal cardiac activity, Hagstrom Miller told reporters on a Wednesday call hosted by Planned Parenthood.
- Clinics overseen by Planned Parenthood and other independent clinics are still open as of Wednesday, Miller said, and they are providing limited services allowed under SB 8. Texas’ 11 abortion-providing Planned Parenthood clinics stopped scheduling visits for abortions that would take place after six weeks of pregnancy in mid-August.
- There is an exemption for broadly defined medical emergencies, but no exemptions in the law for rape or incest.
- If you believe may be pregnant and would want an abortion, you essentially have a two-week window — the luteal phase of pregnancy, where early symptoms include food cravings, headaches, bloating and breast tenderness — to seek abortion care.
Are there still pending legal challenges?
- Multiple lawsuits, including a challenge by the Center for Reproductive Rights and reproductive health clinics in the state filed last month, are still pending.
- The Supreme Court did not act ahead of the law taking effect Wednesday, but it still could. So far the court has not issued any statements or responded to plaintiffs’ requests to block the legislation. The justices do not have a firm deadline to respond, per Bloomberg Law.
- The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals’ hearing on the Texas law — which was scheduled for Monday — was canceled without explanation.
So anyone can report someone for “aiding and abetting” an abortion?
- The law empowers private citizens to sue anyone they believe may have “aided or abetted” someone getting an abortion after six weeks. In a successful lawsuit, the plaintiff would receive at least $10,000 and be reimbursed for legal fees. Defendants would not be entitled to fees.
- Family, friends, lawyers, members of the clergy, abortion providers and fundraisers could all be implicated in potential lawsuits for helping someone in Texas get an abortion, said Jamioly Perritt, an OB/GYN and president of Physicians for Reproductive Health.
What are the legal risks for individuals helping people leave Texas for an abortion?
- For anyone who helps someone leave Texas to obtain an abortion, the legal risk is low, Marc Hearron, lead attorney for Center for Reproductive Rights told reporters Wednesday.
- But, the wide net cast by the law could still lead to trouble, since anyone can file a lawsuit to enforce it.
“The tragedy is that we can only provide abortions for about 10 percent of the people that we could provide abortion for yesterday,” Hagstrom Miller said.
What questions do you have? Send them to us here. We’ll be working to give you as much information as we can.
Read the full explainer on Texas’ abortion ban here.