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Dec. 10 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court decided on Friday to leave in place Texas' restrictive new abortion ban, but also ruled that a lawsuit seeking to strike the law down can proceed. The high court voted 8-1 to allow the suit to continue. However, it did not take action to block or reject the Texas law, which bars abortions as soon as a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which can be as little as six weeks.
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The Texas law is enforced by private citizens through lawsuits against doctors and clinics that perform abortions. The law comes with a $10,000 penalty against any defendant found to violate it.
"The court holds that the petitioners may bring a pre-enforcement challenge in federal court as one means to test [the law's] compliance with the federal Constitution," Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the majority.
Friday's decision by the court does not address whether the Texas ban is unconstitutional. It also allows abortion clinics in Texas to sue over the law.
Aside from a brief pause ordered by a lower federal court, the law has been in effect since Sept. 1.
Some experts think it's likely the Texas case will return to the Supreme Court at some point to decide renewed challenges to the law.
On Thursday, a lower court judge in Texas ruled that the law is unconstitutional. An anti-abortion group, Texas Right to Life, immediately filed an appeal in that case.
The Supreme Court recently heard arguments in a different case relating to abortion from Mississippi. The law in that state bans abortions after 15 weeks. A ruling in that case is expected between now and the end of the court's current term in June.
