The Commonwealth Fund | September 8, 2021
Read the PublicationOn September 1, an unprecedented Texas law went into effect banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, effectively ending most abortions in the state. At midnight on August 31, abortion clinics stopped providing abortions to comply with the law. Late on September 2, in a five-to-four unsigned opinion, the Supreme Court refused to block the law temporarily. For now, Texas has found a way to evade the requirements of the United States Constitution through a novel enforcement scheme — and put the health of pregnant people at risk while doing so.