On Wednesday, September 1, 2021,  in Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson, 594 U.S. ____ (2021), the U.S. Supreme Court declined to act on an emergency request to stop Senate Bill 8 (S.B. 8), effectively ending Roe v. Wade in the state of Texas. 

Lawyers Club of San Diego, an avid supporter of reproductive rights, strongly opposes S.B. 8. Passed in May 2021, S.B. 8 bans all abortions after approximately six weeks of pregnancy – before many women know they are pregnant. It makes no exceptions for pregnancy resulting from rape, incest, or a fetal defect incompatible with life after birth. It also permits private citizens to sue abortion providers as well as anyone who assists a woman obtain an abortion. Those private citizens need not even show any connection to the defendant, and even though they are not personally damaged, they would be entitled to a minimum of $10,000 in damages plus attorneys’ fees.¹  The law—now in effect—will ban abortions for 85% of Texas patients and will likely force Texas abortion clinics to close.²

Make no mistake: abortion rights are under assault. 2021 has seen more abortion restrictions enacted in the United States than any other year in history. Anti-abortion advocates are presumably emboldened by the 6-3 majority on the Supreme Court, and likely will be more so in light of the Supreme Court’s refusal to act on S.B. 8. 

Lawyers Club is a pro-choice organization, and we will persist and persevere in our fight to preserve and protect reproductive rights. 

¹https://www.npr.org/2021/09/01/1033171800/texas-abortion-ban-supreme-court-

²https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/21/21A24/189841/20210830120232143_WWH%20v%20Jackson%20-%20emergency%20application%20with%20appendix.pdf