The right to abortion is once again being questioned by the U.S Supreme Court, with the recent ruling bringing the right to an abortion back into the political foreground during Biden’s first year as president.
In early September, the U.S. Supreme Court vote ended in gridlock on Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s bill that would make it illegal to have an abortion after 6 weeks into a pregnancy. Due to its functionality, the court did not land on a proper vote and the law was deemed legal and allowed to stand in the state of Texas. With this new law, Texas now moves forward into implementing the strictest abortion law in the entire nation.
Because the legislation dealt with such a controversial topic, the overall legality of the bill created enough divisiveness amongst the justices for the vote to end in gridlock. The conservative justices, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito Jr., former President Trump’s nominations, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett, voted stating they would let the Texas law stand ahead of the lower courts to decide whether it is constitutional.
The five conserviatve judges were praised by conservative media outlets for taking a more pro-life stance on the bill. Meanwhile, liberal judges were praised by the left wing media for not only attempting to uphold a woman’s right to abortion, but for also attempting to look at the legislation thorugh a more conditional lens.
Chief Justice Roberts Jr. joined the more liberal judges who argued to strike down the law and keep it from being implemented until its legality plays out. The main cause for this law being called into question is the clause that allows for private citizens to take legal action against anyone who helps a woman terminate her pregnancy and rewarding them with a $10,000 reward paid by the defendant if the suing party wins in court.
