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On June 24th, within hours of the Supreme Court鈥檚 decision, the Texas attorney general put out an advisory stating that the state鈥檚 鈥渢rigger ban,鈥� which bans virtually all abortion, will not take effect for approximately two months or longer. The trigger ban is scheduled to take effect 30 days after issuance of the judgment from the Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women鈥檚 Health Organization. While the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Dobbs on June 24, 2022, it has not yet issued its judgment, which is a separate order typically issued at least 25 days or longer after the opinion. However, in that same advisory, the Texas attorney general said that 鈥渁bortion providers could be criminally liable for providing abortions starting today鈥� based on the state鈥檚 鈥渁bortion prohibitions predating Roe.鈥�

On June 27, 2022, abortion providers in Texas filed a lawsuit in state court seeking to block officials from enforcing the state鈥檚 antiquated pre-Roe abortion ban, which once banned abortion entirely but has been interpreted to be repealed and unenforceable. Prior to the U.S. Supreme Court鈥檚 overturning of Roe v. Wade, abortion was available in Texas up to six weeks of pregnancy.

On June 28th, 2022, the Harris County district court granted a Temporary Restraining Order enjoining enforcement of the state鈥檚 pre-Roe abortion ban. The State has since filed a Petition for Writ of Mandamus and an Emergency Motion for Temporary Relief in the Supreme Court of Texas and the Court of Appeals for the First Judicial District of Houston, Texas, asking both to block the lower court鈥檚 order. On July 1, 2022, the Supreme Court of Texas granted the state鈥檚 emergency motion in part and asked for supplemental briefing, and on July 12, 2022, the Court of Appeals denied the State鈥檚 mandamus petition.

The lawsuit was filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights, the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Texas, Morrison & Foerster, LLP, and Hayward PLLC on behalf of Whole Woman鈥檚 Health, Whole Woman鈥檚 Health Alliance, Alamo Women鈥檚 Reproductive Services, Austin Women鈥檚 Health Center, Houston Women鈥檚 Clinic, Houston Women鈥檚 Reproductive Services, and Southwestern Women鈥檚 Surgery Center.