The issue before the Texas Supreme Court is “whether the state officials specified in the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last month have the power to enforce the abortion law.” The US Supreme Court's Dec 10th decision ruled that the legal challenge to the Texas Heartbeat Act could continue, but it could only target Texas licensing officials.
The Heartbeat Act prohibits the abortion of children with detectable heartbeats (six weeks gestation). It has remained in effect due to its unique enforcement method. Rather than being enforced primarily by the state, the Heartbeat Act is enforced by private individuals who file lawsuits against those who participate in the abortion of protected children. The law does include a provision that could revoke the medical licenses of those found guilty in these lawsuits, however. For this reason, the Supreme Court decided that licensing officials could be targeted in challenges to the Heartbeat Act.
