LogFAQs > #957640223

It was brought up just before, but it really does deserve some more in-depth detail on how fucking odious and absurd that Texas abortion law is, because the batshit insane and cruel provisions aren't just cruelty for cruelty's sake - they're the key component.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/01/us/supreme-court-texas-abortion.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/09/us/abortion-law-regulations-texas.html

Quick primer for those not aware: The law bans abortion after six weeks and empowers individuals to sue anyone who helps a woman get an abortion - not just the doctors or providers, but anyone who provides financial assistance, even the Uber driver who might drive a woman to a clinic. And if their lawsuit is successful, the individual is to be rewarded up to $10,000. And the individuals empowered to sue under this law? They don't have to have any connection to the matter, or demonstrate any injury from it, they don't even have to be from Texas.

Now, this is right off the bat blatantly unconstitutional. Planned Parenthood v. Casey guarantees the right to an abortion at any time before viability so six weeks is just obviously unconstitutional. Six weeks is before many women even know they're pregnant as well so it's no surprise that Texas (and other red states) have moved it that far back as a way to in-effect outlaw abortion entirely.

But let's look at that "other red states" bit. Texas isn't the first to pass an abortion ban at 6 weeks. But all the other attempts to do so have been enjoined in federal court because, again, it is just flagrantly unconstitutional. So let's go back to the whole "$10k bounties for vigilantes to sue anyone involved in an abortion" provision there. That's not just some "cruelty is the point" thing thrown in there because the GOP could. That's the key component of the Texas law.

The whole purpose of that provision is so they can argue a fucking crazy legal "argument" that federal courts don't have jurisdiction to act against this law because it's not the government enforcing the law here, it's the vigilantes they just deputized. And abortion providers lack standing to sue because "they have not shown that they will be personally harmed by a bill that may never be enforced against them by anyone." That's an actual quote from the actual legal argument by the Texas AG (who btw cleared himself of any wrongdoing in an entirely unrelated matter the other day.) Never mind that this bill empowers people to sue without being able to prove injury themselves or even be connected to the matter in any fucking way.

Anyway, even after all this, a district court was like "yeah bro not buying this shit" and ordered a hearing on whether to enjoin the law. ...And then the Fifth Circuit (which was super conservative before Trump stacked it even further) overruled that and ordered that hearing be called off. That's what prompted the emergency appeal to SCOTUS to enjoin the law which it... did not do. (It's Alito specifically who is in charge of this case.) So once again SCOTUS uses its shadow docket to radically pursue it's partisan, ideological goals without a word of explanation or accountability.

In theory SCOTUS can still act on the emergency appeal but the fact that it didn't is absolutely chilling since the result was the law going into effect and basically outlawing abortion in Texas in defiance of Roe in all practical senses.

Honestly, I'm 99% sure the gameplan here by Texas, the Fifth Circuit, and probably the conservative wing of SCOTUS is to just tie up legal challenges to the Texas law in the legal system which will take time because SCOTUS already agreed to take up Mississippi's suit next term where they requested the court to overturn Roe. Now, I don't know if they do that literally, but 100% I believe they kill it in as a practical matter by giving the okay on these draconian kind of bills where states can basically add whatever insane restrictions they want and as long as it isn't technically illegal in its entirety (like imagine a bill going even further and banning abortion after three days or something as an example) it's cool. But there might be enough true believers on the court now to just formally kill it now, who knows.

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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?