Supreme Court agrees to hear 2 challenges to Texas abortion law

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The Supreme Court has agreed to expedite and hear procedural elements of two challenges to Texas’ new anti-abortion law, which effectively bans most abortions after six weeks.

One case is the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) challenge against the Texas law, is by an organization called Whole Women’s Health.

The questions presented in each case are procedural in nature, and will not get to the merits of the Texas law, or whether to potentially overturn the major abortion precedent Roe v. Wade.

“[T]he petition is granted limited to the following question: May the United States bring suit in federal court and obtain injunctive or declaratory relief against the State, state court judges, state court clerks, other state officials, or all private parties to prohibit S.B. 8 from being enforced?” the court wrote regarding the DOJ’s case.

The “question presented” in the Whole Women’s Health case is about “whether a State can insulate from federal-court review a law that prohibits the exercise of a constitutional right by delegating to the general public the authority to enforce that prohibition through civil actions.”

Arguments are scheduled for Nov. 1. The court declined to halt the law in the interim.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.