A Texas law that bans abortion after six weeks took effect on Wednesday, Sept. 1, but not without some drama.
Republican Governor Greg Abbott signed the law in May. In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to the measure Wednesday, effectively allowing it to become law.
There are no exceptions for rape or incest, but some medical emergency considerations can allow women to proceed with an abortion.
President Biden called the law harsh and a complete violation of Roe v. Wade, a decades-old decision that allows the procedure in more circumstances.
Alexis McGill Johns, Planned Parenthood CEO, parroted Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s criticism of part of the bill that gives regular citizens authority to help enforce the law. “Empowering any citizen in any state to bring essentially a bounty on anyone who is supporting someone trying to get an abortion in Texas is really what is just so draconian,” she said.