The Supreme Court will return to its courtroom after the pandemic forced unprecedented changes

abortion providers in texas have been trying to get the law halted before it goes into effect. And so what the Supreme Court said last night was that they were not willing to do that. So they voted 54 to deny an emergency appeal from abortion providers and others who wanted to block enforcement of the law. The law went into effect Wednesday. What it does is prohibit abortions once medical professionals can detect cardiac activity and that is usually around six weeks of pregnancy before many women know that they are actually pregnant. This is the strictest law against abortion rights in the United States. Since the Supreme Court's Landmark Roe vs Wade Decision in 1973, It's also part of a broader push by Republicans nationwide to impose new restrictions on abortion. At least 12 other states have enacted bans early in pregnancy, but all of those laws have been blocked from going into it clinics have said that this law will rule out 85% of abortions in texas um and forced many clinics to close. Already abortion clinics beyond the texas border are feeling the impact. My colleague talked to one clinic in Oklahoma city where there were 80 appointments scheduled over the past two days and that's more than double the typical number of patients abortion providers said that they are devastated by it. They vowed to continue fighting. Meanwhile, anti abortion groups and the texas lawmakers who passed this law are cheering what the court did and hoping that they get more positive rulings from this more conservative court. So the Supreme Court does have other abortion cases to consider. It will be considering one. As soon as this fall, we'll have to see what the Supreme Court decides with this more conservative makeup and whether it does, decides eventually to overturn roe versus wade.

Video above: Supreme Court leaves Texas abortion law in placeThe Supreme Court announced Wednesday that it will hold oral arguments in its courtroom beginning next month, returning after more than a year of conference calls due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Justices, lawyers, essential personnel and journalists will be allowed in the courtroom and the live audio feed that has become a staple of the telephonic oral arguments will continue, the court said. Sessions will not be open to the general public.Justices are slated to hear a major Second Amendment case on Nov. 3, and they will also consider a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade in a case concerning a Mississippi law that bans most abortion after 15 weeks. That case has yet to be scheduled.The court's announcement comes after COVID-19 forced the justices to take the unprecedented step of holding arguments by phone and changing its format to give each justice an allotted amount of time to ask questions.The measures undertaken during the pandemic received mixed reviews from advocates, many who chafed as the justices sometimes moved slowly through their questions, launching their inquiries in order of seniority. The sessions lacked the traditional give and take where a justice could jump in at any point to ask for more information or to test a lawyer's premise.The public was surprised when Justice Clarence Thomas, who rarely asked questions during the traditional format, jumped in during the telephonic arguments and played an active role under the new system.The move to allow a live stream of the sessions was widely praised, opening up court procedures to anyone who wanted to listen instead of just those lucky enough to get a seat in the courtroom.The new procedures will be in effect for at least three months, the court said.

WASHINGTON —

Video above: Supreme Court leaves Texas abortion law in place

The Supreme Court announced Wednesday that it will hold oral arguments in its courtroom beginning next month, returning after more than a year of conference calls due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Justices, lawyers, essential personnel and journalists will be allowed in the courtroom and the live audio feed that has become a staple of the telephonic oral arguments will continue, the court said. Sessions will not be open to the general public.

Justices are slated to hear a major Second Amendment case on Nov. 3, and they will also consider a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade in a case concerning a Mississippi law that bans most abortion after 15 weeks. That case has yet to be scheduled.

The court's announcement comes after COVID-19 forced the justices to take the unprecedented step of holding arguments by phone and changing its format to give each justice an allotted amount of time to ask questions.

The measures undertaken during the pandemic received mixed reviews from advocates, many who chafed as the justices sometimes moved slowly through their questions, launching their inquiries in order of seniority. The sessions lacked the traditional give and take where a justice could jump in at any point to ask for more information or to test a lawyer's premise.

The public was surprised when Justice Clarence Thomas, who rarely asked questions during the traditional format, jumped in during the telephonic arguments and played an active role under the new system.

The move to allow a live stream of the sessions was widely praised, opening up court procedures to anyone who wanted to listen instead of just those lucky enough to get a seat in the courtroom.

The new procedures will be in effect for at least three months, the court said.

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