(Reuters) – The top courts in Texas and Ohio on Friday allowed the Republican-led states to enforce restrictions and bans on abortions after the U.S. Supreme Court last week overturned the nationwide constitutional right to abortion.
The Texas Supreme Court late on Friday allowed a nearly century-old abortion ban to take effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling and erased women’s constitutional right to abortion.
The order, which allows the law to be enforced civilly but not criminally, came the same day the Ohio Supreme Court gave the state the go-ahead to enforce a 2019 ban on abortions at six weeks of pregnancy.
The dual orders came one week after the conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court restored states’ authority to ban abortions, triggering a flurry of lawsuits seeking to preserve the ability of women to terminate their own pregnancies.
The Texas Supreme Court acted in response to a request by Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton to put on hold a temporary restraining order a judge issued Tuesday that allowed abortions to resume in the state up to the already-restricted six weeks of pregnancy.
Lawyers for the abortion clinics who challenged the 1925 ban vowed to continue fighting. A lower court judge could block the law once more following arguments slated for July 12, the clinics say.
“We won’t stop fighting to ensure that as many people as possible, for as long as possible, can access the essential reproductive health care they need,” said Julia Kaye, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union representing the Texas abortion clinics challenging the ban.
Abortion rights groups have since last week challenged anti-abortion laws in 11 states, and judges in Florida, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Utah have prevented restrictions or bans from being enforced.
Friday’s orders came as two Democratic-controlled states, New York and New Jersey, moved to bolster abortion rights within their borders.
