Elections matter. The Supreme Court matters. There is no more heartbreaking evidence of these truths than Texas, where, this week, abortion is effectively banned for the first time since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973.
The Texas legislature's SB 8 went into effect at midnight on September 1, after the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals canceled a hearing on the law and the Supreme Court stayed silent despite requests to block the Texas law. This extreme law bans abortion at six weeks of pregnancy, before most people even know they’re pregnant.
Unlike similar abortion bans in other states, which are designed to be enforced by state officials, this law gives the general public unprecedented authority to enforce the ban. SB 8 gives politicians, neighbors, and even strangers the right to sue those who provide — or just help patients get — abortion care.