Special Edition: Texas Abortion Ban at the Supreme Court
November 2, 2021
On Monday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two cases challenging Texas’ ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy known as SB 8 — one case brought by the ACLU and our partner organizations on behalf of abortion providers, Whole Women’s Health v. Jackson, and a separate case brought by the Department of Justice, United States v. Texas. The rulings will determine whether or not abortion providers and the Department of Justice are entitled to challenge SB 8 as the law was written purposefully to skirt federal judicial review.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court declined to rule on an emergency request to block SB 8, allowing the ban to take effect on September 1st. Since then, the majority of Texans seeking abortions have been unable to access them in the state.
What does this all mean for the future of SB 8 and abortion access in the U.S. at large? That remains to be seen. There are so many unanswered questions.
Brigitte Amiri, Deputy Director of the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project joins us to help break it all down. Plus, we hear from demonstrators Kenya Martin and MJ Flores rallying right outside of the Supreme Court building.
If you’d like to support our right against forced pregnancy, you can donate at www.aclu.org/access. We really appreciate the support.
In this episode
Kendall Ciesemier
Host of At Liberty and Senior Executive Producer of Multimedia, American Civil Liberties Union
she/her/hers
Brigitte Amiri
Deputy Director, ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project
