New York Attorney General Letitia James continues her fight to safeguard the health care and reproductive rights of patients across New York and the rest of the nation. As part of a coalition of 24 attorneys general, Attorney General James urged the U.S. Supreme Court to stop Texas’ unconstitutional six-week abortion ban, Senate Bill 8 (SB 8), by vacating a Fifth Circuit order that let the abortion ban continue to take effect. The amicus brief was filed in the case of United States of America v. State of Texas et al., supporting a challenge by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and calling on the high court to halt Texas’ efforts to openly disregard nearly a half century of precedent by keeping this unconstitutional, across-the-board ban in place within its borders.
“With the passage of SB 8, Texas has effectively turned back the clock and left most women seeking abortions in Texas with no options. Just as bad, the law encourages vigilantism by enticing private citizens to turn into bounty hunters against anyone who helps women access their constitutionally-protected right to health care,” said Attorney General James. “This twisted and perverse take on The Handmaid’s Tale is simply an effort to control women’s rights, their bodies, and their choices, which is why we are taking this battle to the Supreme Court. We will not allow Texas or any other conservative-led state to wage a war on women’s reproductive freedoms without a fight.”
Soon after SB 8 took effect, the DOJ sued the state of Texas and Attorney General James and the coalition filed an amicus brief in the case, supporting the DOJ’s challenge. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas issued an order blocking the ban. But Texas immediately sought a stay of the district court order in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which it was successful in obtaining — allowing the law to again take effect and deny access to abortion for all women in Texas.
