Texas bans abortion after six weeks

Texas's Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law banning abortion in the state before six weeks, before most women even realize they are pregnant and long before they can get an appointment to confirm it. The AP reports that the law differs from other attempts to ban abortion in that it leaves enforcement to private citizens, who are encouraged to sue doctors or "anyone who helps a woman get an abortion."

The law puts Texas in line with more than a dozen other states that ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, possibly as early as six weeks. It would take effect in September, but federal courts have mostly blocked states from enforcing similar measures.

The law is condemned widely by womens' rights supporters and defenders of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that prohibits states from banning abortions. But its encouragement of private litigation has others alarmed about the potential for nuisance lawsuits filed en-masse: anyone in the U.S., not just Texas, will be encouraged to sue doctors, nurses, counselors, and even the friends and family of abortion patients on government-encouraged pretexts.