Here's what to know and action to take.

URGENT: SCOTUS hears our challenge to Texas' extreme abortion ban next Monday.

Take action by urging Congress to pass WHPA and safeguard abortion nationwide.
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ACLU Supporter –

In the continued and unprecedented fight to protect abortion access in this country, the Supreme Court has announced it will hear oral arguments in our challenge to Texas' abortion ban next Monday, November 1.

On the same day, the Court is hearing the Department of Justice's challenge to the Texas ban (SB 8). SCOTUS has so far refused to intervene to block the ban while it considers the cases, which means that politicians have been allowed to violate Texans' reproductive rights for almost two months.

All of this is occurring as the Justices are set to consider a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade in a separate case, brought by the Center for Reproductive Rights, challenging a Mississippi ban in December.

It's a dire moment, but the ACLU – alongside our partners and activists like you – are fighting back relentlessly, and we want you to feel as prepared as possible. So as my fellow attorneys fight back in court, I've written up key points to know and share out on the two SB 8 cases and what action to take:
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* First, our case – Whole Woman's Health v. Jackson, brought by the Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood, the Lawyering Project, the ACLU of Texas, and ACLU – challenges Texas' extreme ban. In August, we asked the Supreme Court to block the ban before it took effect on September 1, but the Court refused, citing “complex and novel” procedural questions about whether it has the authority to do so. Next Monday, the Supreme Court hears arguments on those procedural questions to decide whether federal courts have the power to block the ban.

* Second, United States v. Texas, is also challenging SB 8 and was filed by the U.S. Department of Justice. Earlier in October, a federal district court granted the DOJ's request to preliminarily block the law, but an appellate court let the law take effect again less than 48 hours later. On Monday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments to decide whether the DOJ has the authority to bring a case to protect people's constitutional rights and whether the Court should block the law.

* As a reminder, the Texas law bans abortion after six weeks into pregnancy, before many people even know they're pregnant, and enables the public to bring costly lawsuits against anyone who helps someone get an abortion in violation of the ban. As long as SCOTUS refuses to block the ban, countless Texans face the possibility of being forced to carry pregnancies against their will – a reality that harms Black, low-income, and undocumented people the most due to existing systemic inequities.

* Finally, remember that Congress can do something to push back on the attacks on abortion access happening around the country. Send a message to your senators today and urge them to pass WHPA to protect abortion access nationwide at a time when our rights are on the line like never before.
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Take Action Now
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ACLU Supporter, this doesn't stop with Texas. There is a clear, concerted strategy to ban abortion right now by any means possible. Politicians in states like Arkansas and Florida are already planning out how they can pass SB 8-style copycat bills. And without pressure on politicians or action by the courts, we can expect more states to quickly follow suit.

But I'll be clear: We'll fight any restriction that prevents patients from accessing abortion care. And it's community members like you that ensure we can do this.

So please watch your inbox for further updates about next Monday and the work to come – and thank you again for sticking with us in this incredibly urgent moment.

With strength for the fight ahead,

Brigitte Amiri
Pronouns: She, her, hers
Deputy Director of the Reproductive Freedom Project, ACLU

P.S. If you're in Texas and need an abortion, or know someone who does, we want you to know that there is a network of abortion funds and support networks that can help you get the information and care you need. Call your local abortion clinics and abortion funds and talk to them about your options – or go to needabortion.org <[link removed]> to find out more.

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