AFTERSHOCKS

Texas Abortion Trigger Law Will Go Into Effect Aug. 25 After SCOTUS Judgment

The Supreme Court issued its official judgment on Dobbs v. Jackson on Tuesday, starting a 30-day countdown for some abortion trigger laws.

After the Supreme Court on Tuesday issued its official judgment, not opinion, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Clinic, some trigger laws, including in Texas, will go into effect in 30 days, the Texas Tribune reports. The Dobbs opinion, issued June 24 by Justice Samuel Alito, overturned Roe v. Wade and ended the constitutional right to abortion. Some states, like Texas, had to wait for the case’s judgment to be issued in order for their trigger law with harsh penalties for abortion providers to be enforceable, according to the law. Texas’ law, which increases criminal and civil punishments for those who provide abortions, will go into effect Aug. 25. Under current Texas law, abortion is already nearly banned, except when the mother’s life is at risk. When the trigger law takes effect, the same rules apply, but abortion providers face $100,000 lawsuits from the attorney general’s office and life in prison.