WASHINGTON & AUSTIN, TX — Last night, the US Supreme Court declined to rule on a Texas law that bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy and allows private citizens to sue abortion providers and those who aid a person in obtaining an abortion. League of Women Voters of the United States Board President Dr. Deborah Ann Turner and League of Women Voters of Texas President Grace Chimene issued the following joint statement in response: 

“By refusing to rule on Texas’s near-ban on abortions, the Supreme Court allows a horrific, anti-woman law to take effect in the state. Not only does this law essentially ban abortion services, but it opens up service providers to unjust lawsuits by private citizens simply for doing their job. 

“The League of Women Voters of Texas advocated strongly against this law and other attempts by the Texas legislature to roll back reproductive rights.” 

“Reproductive choice is not only a dire issue concerning the rights of women and all people who may become pregnant, but one of racial and economic justice. Limits on reproductive health services disproportionately impact Black, brown, and low-income communities, therefore upholding and perpetuating income inequality and white supremacy.  

“Bodily autonomy is a personal right. The League of Women Voters believes every person deserves the access and the privacy to make their own reproductive choices, and we will continue the fight for reproductive justice in Texas and across the nation.”