The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that Texas abortion providers can sue over the state’s near-total ban on abortions, but the justices are allowing the law to remain in effect.
The move, which will send the challenge against the most restrictive abortion law in the nation back to a lower level court, can be seen as a victory for opponents of the law.
Under the law, abortions after the sixth week of pregnancy are prohibited, which is before many women know they are pregnant.
Texas had sought to make the law nearly impossible to attack in federal court.
Since past Supreme Court rulings have said states cannot prohibit abortion before the age of fetal viability, at around 24 weeks, Texas officials made it so that they were not responsible for enforcing the law.
Instead, the law delegates enforcement to anyone who chooses to sue a doctor performing an abortion, or people aiding in the procedure.
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