In a rare Friday decision, the U.S. Supreme Court  ruled that Texas abortion providers can sue the state’s “executive licensing officials” to block S.B. 8, the state’s six-week abortion ban. The Court, however, also denied the Biden Administration’s request to block the law entirely. Critically and horribly, the Court refused to put a stay on the law blocking its enforcement in Texas while the litigation plays out. This means the people of Texas still cannot obtain an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy—a point at which most pregnant people don’t even know they’re pregnant—unless they travel out of state. While the decision allows the abortion provider lawsuit to go forward, it does limit who can be sued—state court judges, clerks, and the state attorney general cannot be sued by providers.  The only remaining defendants are those with «specific disciplinary authority over medical licensees.»  Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor blasted the majority for allowing the law to stand while it’s fought in the courts, and for dismissing the Justice Department’s suit. “The Court should have put an end to this madness months ago, before S.B. 8 first went into effect. It failed to do so then, and it fails again today,” she wrote in her dissent. Please help Daily Kos fundraise so that West Fund, Fund Texas Choice, Frontera Fund, The Bridge Collective, Clinic Access Support Network, Lilith Fund, Texas Equal Access Fund, Jane’s Due Process, and Support Your Sistah at the Afiya Center can continue to ensure people can access the care they need—and protect their own staff and volunteers from legal threats. You can also contribute to these abortion funds that provide financial assistance to people seeking abortion care in hostile states. Read more