Whole Woman's Health v. Jackson

Whole Woman's Health v. Jackson
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued November 1, 2021
Decided December 10, 2021
Full case nameWhole Woman's Health et al. v. Austin Reeve Jackson, Judge, District Court of Texas, 114th District, et al.
Docket no.21-463
Citations595 U.S. ___ (more)
142 S. Ct. 522; 211 L. Ed. 2d 316; 2021 U.S. LEXIS 6144
ArgumentOral argument
DecisionOpinion
Case history
Prior
  • Motion to dismiss denied, 1:21-cv-00616-RP (W.D. Tex. 2021)
  • Administrative stay of proceedings granted, 21-50792 (5th Cir. 2021)
  • Emergency motion to vacate stay denied, 21-50792 (5th Cir. 2021)
  • Application for injunctive relief denied, No. 21A24 (594 U.S. ___ 2021)
  • Stay of proceedings granted, 21-50792 (5th Cir. 2021)
Holding
The order of the District Court is affirmed in part and reversed in part, and the case is remanded.
Court membership
Chief Justice
John Roberts
Associate Justices
Clarence Thomas · Stephen Breyer
Samuel Alito · Sonia Sotomayor
Elena Kagan · Neil Gorsuch
Brett Kavanaugh · Amy Coney Barrett
Case opinions
MajorityGorsuch (except as to Part II–C), joined by Thomas, Alito, Kavanaugh, Barrett
PluralityGorsuch (Part II–C), joined by Alito, Kavanaugh, Barrett
Concur/dissentThomas
Concur/dissentRoberts, joined by Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan
Concur/dissentSotomayor, joined by Breyer, Kagan
Laws applied
U.S. Const. art. III sec. 2 clause 1, amend. XI

Whole Woman's Health v. Jackson, 595 U.S. ___ (2021), was a United States Supreme Court case brought by Texas abortion providers and abortion rights advocates that challenged the constitutionality of the Texas Heartbeat Act, a law that outlaws abortions after six weeks.[1] The Texas Heartbeat Act prohibits state officials from enforcing the ban but authorizes private individuals to enforce the law by suing anyone who performs, aids, or abets an abortion after six weeks.[2][3] The law was structured this way to evade pre-enforcement judicial review because lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of state statutes are typically brought against state officials who are charged with enforcing the law, as the state itself cannot be sued under the doctrine of sovereign immunity.[4]

The case centered on whether a state can insulate its laws from pre-enforcement judicial review in this manner by authorizing private individuals to enforce the law while forbidding public enforcement by state officials.[5] On December 10, 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that abortion providers could not sue state-court judges, court clerks, or the state's Attorney General in an effort to stop the filing of private civil-enforcement lawsuits. The Court also held that the abortion providers' claims against state licensing officials could proceed past the motion-to-dismiss stage.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Texas Health and Safety Code §§ 171.207–171.208". statutes.capitol.texas.gov. Archived from the original on January 21, 2022. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  3. ^ Tavernise, Sabrina (July 9, 2021). "Citizens, Not the State, Will Enforce New Abortion Law in Texas". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  4. ^ Gershman, Jacob (September 4, 2021). "Behind Texas Abortion Law, an Attorney's Unusual Enforcement Idea". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on October 10, 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  5. ^ "Whole Woman's Health v. Jackson". Oyez. Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2021.