The U.S. Supreme Court majority insisted it was merely issuing a procedural order late Wednesday night when it let Texas ban most abortions after six weeks.
But with the court set to consider overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade case in the coming months, the 5-4 decision stands as an ominous sign for the fate of constitutional abortion rights.
The one-paragraph order brushed aside arguments that the law is a clear violation of the court’s long-standing precedents protecting abortion rights until much later into pregnancy. The majority included Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, who in other types of cases haven’t been as quick to overturn precedents as their fellow conservatives.