President Joe Biden has condemned the Supreme Court’s “unconstitutional” ruling that upheld a six-week abortion ban in Texas that effectively bans abortion in all cases including rape and incest. All three Trump-appointed justices voted in the majority in the 5-4 ruling.

In most pregnancies, cardiac activity can be detected in fetuses, but the mother would be unaware that she is pregnant, given the limited window of time. The ban incentivizes citizens to sue abortion providers or anyone else “aiding or abetting abortions” after the six-week period. A $10,000 bounty may be collected for any successful lawsuit in preventing abortion.

In 1973, the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that any restrictions placed on abortion in the first trimester were unconstitutional. According to the CDC, 92% of abortions were performed after less than 13 weeks of gestation in 2018.

"It unleashes unconstitutional chaos and empowers self-anointed enforcers to have devastating impacts," Biden said. "Complete strangers will now be empowered to inject themselves in the most private and personal health decisions faced by women."

Biden has called the high court’s ruling an "unprecedented assault on a woman's constitutional rights." Biden says he plans to launch a “whole government” effort to respond to the law asking the Justice Department and the Department of Health and Human Services “to see what steps the federal government can take to ensure that women in Texas have access to safe and legal abortions."

Pro-choice advocates fear the latest ruling will open the flood gates for more restrictive abortion laws, as 85% to 90% of abortions performed in Texas occurred in the first trimester. In 2018, a total of 619,591 abortions were performed, marking a 22% decrease since 2009, according to the CDC.

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