Texas Abortion Ban Goes to the Supreme Court For a Third Time

WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice moments ago asked the Supreme Court to step in and block Texas’ extreme abortion ban after the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals once again failed to uphold the Constitution and protect the reproductive rights of Texans. This is the third time a challenge to the Texas abortion ban has been brought to the Supreme Court.

After a district court blocked the law — SB 8 — to stop it from continuing to harm Texans, the Fifth Circuit reversed that order. The DOJ is now appealing that decision. Texas abortion providers and advocates have also appealed a separate challenge to SB 8 to the Supreme Court, which has thus far ignored the request for relief.

“We’re glad the Department of Justice is bringing the fight against Texas’ extreme abortion ban to the Supreme Court,” said Brigitte Amiri, deputy director of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project. “Abortion access is facing the greatest threat in generations. The Supreme Court must step in to stop this abortion ban from continuing to wreak havoc in Texas and forcing people to carry pregnancies against their will.”

“We applaud this move by the Department of Justice to challenge this unconstitutional law all the way to the Supreme Court,” said Adriana Piñon, policy counsel and senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Texas. “It has been nearly seven weeks since this extreme anti-abortion law went into effect, halting almost all access to care throughout Texas. The effects have been devastating, with low-income and Black and Brown Texans feeling the disproportionate weight of the ban. We hope this time — unlike they did with our lawsuit against SB 8 — the Supreme Court will not turn its back on the Texans who need access to abortion care now.”