WASHINGTON -- Abortion-rights advocates Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block a Texas law from taking effect this week that allows private individuals to sue to enforce a ban on abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy.
The law incentivizes citizens to sue anyone suspected of helping a woman get an abortion, including people who drive a patient to a Texas clinic or provide financial help.
Under the ban, those who successfully sue an abortion provider or health center worker are awarded at least $10,000.
It would be one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country, effectively outlawing the procedure at a stage before many women are aware they are pregnant.
Lawyers for abortion providers told the Supreme Court that the law, which is supposed to take effect Wednesday, "would immediately and catastrophically reduce abortion access in Texas" and probably force many clinics to close.
"Patients who can scrape together resources will be forced to attempt to leave the state to obtain an abortion, and many will be delayed until later in pregnancy.
The remaining Texans who need an abortion will be forced to remain pregnant against their will or to attempt to end their pregnancies without medical supervision," the filing states.
The emergency application has been directed to conservative Justice Samuel Alito, who reviews such requests from that region of the country.
Alito can request a response from the state officials and individuals named in the case and refer the matter to the full court, or he can act on his own at any time.
The request for intervention comes after an appeals court in Texas abruptly postponed a district court hearing scheduled for Monday. Opponents of the law had planned to ask a federal judge in Austin to stop the measure from taking effect.
But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit called off the hearing in a brief unsigned order. A three-judge panel also rejected a request from abortion rights advocates to take the case on an expedited basis or to put the law on hold pending appeal.
Those legal developments injected fresh concern and uncertainty for Texas abortion providers, who say the law is unconstitutional and will subject them to endless lawsuits, shut down clinics and reduce services.
More than 85% of women who choose to terminate their pregnancies in Texas are at least six weeks into pregnancy, according to advocates, so the law would prevent nearly all abortions in the state.
"If this law is not blocked by September 1, abortion access in Texas will come to an abrupt stop. Texas has shown it will stop at nothing to force this law into effect," Marc Hearron, senior counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement.
In response to the filing Monday, Texas Right to Life legislative director John Seago said, "The abortion industry is using their last, desperate option in an attempt to block the life-saving Texas Heartbeat Act from taking effect."
"We are hopeful that Justice Alito will examine the compelling arguments raised explaining why the case should be ultimately dismissed."
Legal experts said abortion rights advocates still have options, but limited time. They are asking the Supreme Court to block the law or to get rid of the appeals court order and allow the district court to hold its planned hearing.
Steve Vladeck, a constitutional law professor at the University of Texas School of Law, said there is a "decent chance" there will still be an opportunity for the district court to convene a hearing and potentially block the law.
"The problem is the chances of that happening before it goes into effect are dwindling by the moment," Vladeck said. "And for women in Texas who want to avail themselves of their constitutional right to an abortion, that could become virtually impossible by the end of tomorrow [Tuesday] night."
Information for this article was contributed by Caroline Kitchener and Ariana Eunjung Cha of The Washington Post.