AUSTIN, Texas - Texas’ near-total ban on abortions became law Sept. 1 and quickly became the target of several lawsuits aiming to stop its enforcement.But as those legal battles continue — with one case the subject of a federal court hearing Friday — Senate Bill 8 still stands.Abortion providers, doctors, women’s rights groups and even the U.S.
government are battling to overturn the law, which bans the procedure after approximately six weeks of pregnancy — before many know they’re pregnant.
The nation’s highest court has taken up the law once — though it didn’t weigh in on its constitutionality — and multiple lawsuits are pending.