Texas's high court on Friday effectively ended a challenge by clinics to a state law that banned most abortions in the state by ruling that state officials including those tasked with doctor licensing have no role in enforcing the law.
The Texas Supreme Court's decision came in a lawsuit against those officials by clinics suing over a law known as SB8 that bans abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. It allows private citizens to sue anyone who performs and assists a woman in obtaining an abortion after cardiac activity is detected in the embryo.