This decision rises the barriers of proceedings that have prevented federal judges so far from blocking the Texane law, which, however, violates the jurisprudence of the High Court.
Le Monde with AFP
The Supreme Court of the United States authorized, Friday, December 10, the federal courts to intervene against the Texane law on abortion, very restrictive, without going to suspend. This decision in half-tiny raises the barriers of proceedings which have so far prevented the judges of the federal courts blocking the Texane law, which, however, violates the jurisprudence of the High Court.
Effective September 1, the text prohibits the voluntary interruption of pregnancy (IVG) from the moment when the heartbeat of the embryo can be detected – about six weeks of pregnancy. However, the Supreme Court guarantees since 1973, with the iconic judgment Roe V. Wade, the right of women to abort, and then specified that it applied until the fetus is viable – that is to say twenty-two weeks of pregnancy.
In fact, the Texane law is almost a general prohibition of abortion: between 85% and 90% of the IVG concern a pregnancy that has been succeeded beyond this period. The law is powerfully dissuasive. It does not provide any exceptions in case of rape or incest.
Especially, Texas has imagined an exceptional device that has so far complicated the intervention of federal justice. His law entrusts the case to enforce this forbidden “exclusively” to the citizens. The latter are called to denounce any person who contributed to an abortion, directly (doctor, nurse) or indirect (the taxi or bus driver who would lead the patient to the clinic for example). This delation may bring up to $ 10,000 (8,800 euros) for each supposed “accomplice”.
Another amazing aspect of the legislation: it is not the complainant to prove the supposed offense, but to defend themselves. If the latter is convicted, it will have to reimburse the court costs of the complainant.
The inaction of the Supreme Court criticized on the left
“This radical law is a flagrant violation of the constitutional law recognized in ROE v. Wade, had written the President of the United States, Joe Biden, In a statement the er September. “My government is very attached” to the right to abortion, “we will protect it and defend it,” he added. The administration of Mr. Biden had seized the Supreme Court on October 18 in order to block this legislation.
The highest American jurisdiction, where the conservative judges have the majority, had already been seized for the first time and had sheltered behind these “new questions of procedure” (the fact of allowing the application of the law to the charge citizens) to refuse, the September, to block the entry into force of the text.