Supreme Court refuses to block Texas anti-abortion law — but allows challenge to proceed

More than three months after a near-total ban on abortion in Texas took effect, the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday announced it was refusing to immediately block the law.

"Texas cannot escape a constitutional challenge to its six-week abortion ban, the US Supreme Court ruled Friday, reviving a fight over the strictest antiabortion law in the country months after a majority of justices refused to stop it from taking effect," BuzzFeed News reported Thursday. "A majority of justices concluded that abortion providers who had sued the state over the law, SB 8, could proceed with at least part of their case. The court did not reach the core question of whether the Texas law is or is not constitutional."

University of Texas Law Prof. Steve Vladeck called the opinion a "mixed verdict."

"So the providers' case can go forward, but only against a small cohort of executive officials. A mixed verdict, but less of a win for providers than the argument suggested they might get," he said.