Two court rulings Monday bolstered abortion opponents, with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that Texas could ban emergency abortions if they violate state law and Georgia’s top court allowing enforcement of the abortion ban in that state.
The rulings are the latest in a legal saga that’s been playing out a few rulings at a time across the U.S. for the past two years — since the nation’s top court overturned Roe v. Wade, ended the nationwide right to abortion, and opened the door to bans and restrictions, as well as the new legal fights that followed.
Meanwhile, abortion is also a top concern for voters ahead of next month’s elections, including in nine states where it’s on the ballot directly in the form of state constitutional amendments.
Here are five key things to know about the latest abortion developments across the country.
Texas gets permission to keep barring some emergency abortions
In the fallout of the 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, President Joe Biden’s administration told hospitals that federal law required them to provide abortion services when the life of the pregnant person was at risk.
Texas sued over the policy, saying the federal government could not mandate the right to abortions that would violate the state’s ban at all stages of pregnancy, with exceptions to protect the health and life of the woman.
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court let that ruling stand. The justices did not detail their reasoning.
Georgia brings back ban about six weeks into pregnancy
A weeks after a Georgia judge blocked the state’s ban on abortion after the first six weeks or so of pregnancy, the state Supreme Court on Monday put it back into place — at least for now.
The state’s top court said the ban on abortion once cardiac activity can be detected, generally about six weeks into pregnancy and often before women realize they’re pregnant, can be enforced while it considers the state’s appeal of the September ruling.
It’s not clear how many abortions were provided in the state that could not have been under the ban during the week the rules were relaxed. Some clinics said they were willing to provide abortions after six weeks, though.
The ruling meant that four states again bar abortion in most cases after about six weeks of pregnancy.
Ruling blocking North Dakota’s ban becomes official
In another late-September development, a North Dakota ruling from earlier in the month striking down that state’s abortion ban became official.
