Supreme Court denies request to stop Texas six-week abortion ban

A ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy in Texas has come into effect from Wednesday (1 September) after the US Supreme Court voted down an emergency request to block it.

The court, which has a 6-3 conservative split – due in part to three justices being nominated by former president Donald Trump – voted five to four against blocking the country’s most radical abortion law.

The legislation amounts to a near-total ban on abortions given that they are illegal once fetal cardiac activity is detectable, which generally occurs before most women know they are pregnant.