Today the US Supreme Court will take up the Texas abortion law, the most restrictive law of its kind, which basically outlaws abortions in Texas after 6 weeks of pregnancy.
Women's right advocates and the federal government have been fighting the law since it took effect in September, arguing it's an attempt to deny women their reproductive rights.
Texas' SB 8, the 6-week fetal heartbeat bill, which allows private citizens to sue, took effect September 1st.
A judge in Austin stayed the law. The case was appealed to the 5th Circuit Court which lifted the stay allowing the law to remain active while it's under appeal. The US Government then filed suit to the Supreme Court. But it's not clear how far the Court will let arguments in this case go.
University of North Texas law school professor Brian Owsley says the options are to either deal with just the status of the law while it's being reviewed, or go further and decide whether the Justice Department has standing to sue Texas.
A separate case out of Mississippi is considered a more direct challenge to Roe V Wade, and that case will be argued next month.
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