In other news from Texas, the state’s Supreme Court on Friday effectively ended a federal challenge to the near-total abortion ban that has been in place since September. The ruling leaves Texas’s abortion ban in place for the foreseeable future, but reproductive rights advocates say they’ll continue to fight it. Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said, “The courts have allowed Texas to nullify a constitutional right.”
Meanwhile, in Missouri, a state representative has proposed a bill to ban abortions after 10 weeks, while criminalizing the termination of ectopic pregnancies with a penalty of up to 30 years or life in prison. Ectopic pregnancies are not viable and can threaten the life of the pregnant person. This comes after another Missouri lawmaker proposed allowing citizens to sue anyone who helps a resident obtain an abortion out of state.