The Supreme Court vacated lower court rulings in TX abortion battle.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

This is a victory for abortion rights.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday handed a victory to advocates of abortion rights, wiping lower court rulings off the books that had upheld a Texas order banning nearly all abortions in the state during the coronavirus pandemic.

Gov. Greg Abbot ordered a halt to nonessential medical procedures in late March of last year to conserve hospital resources and personal protective equipment. Attorney General Ken Paxton then said the order applied to "any type of abortions," including medical abortions that do not involve surgery.

A federal judge in Texas declared the order too broad and lifted the ban. But the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans put it back in place. In public health emergencies, the appeals court said, a state can restrict constitutional rights including, "one's right to peaceably assemble, to publicly worship, to travel, and even to leave one's home. The right to abortion is no exception."

....

In a brief order, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal and vacated the 5th Circuit's ruling.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-wipes-out-lower-court-rulings-texas-abortion-battle-n1255549?fbclid=IwAR2Zhkkzap6MF6m5OP684JSHlvvb9IkUSrAayhQ92TQSHiEoROIHzrTcm-g

[Wounded Bear]

1. K&R...nt

[MontanaMama]

2. Kick.

Lots of ground to make up on abortion rights so I'm happy with any and all gains.

[spanone]

3. ⭐️⭐️⭐️K&R ⭐️⭐️⭐️

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. Good news! n/t

[NoRoadUntravelled]

5. K&R

[Solly Mack]

6. K&R

[Hermit-The-Prog]

7. Cautiously celebrating. SCROTUS may have vacated over the "publicly worship" part.

Remember this court ruled against Cuomo's limitation of church gatherings during the pandemic.

[Mr.Bill]

11. Yep. I was going to post the same thing. n/t

[rpannier]

12. I think this is probably closer to why they did it

Abbott issued a new order a short time later that allowed abortions in Texas to resume, but the state asked the Supreme Court to keep the appeals court rulings on the books. The decisions "have been cited hundreds of times in courts across the country" in legal disputes over Covid-19 restrictions, lawyers for the state told the court.

[hedda_foil]

8. Huh! That one was unexpected.

[SKKY]

9. I really don't know what to make of this Roberts court...

...I just don't.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

10. It's just another indication that judges march to their own drummers.

What "conservative" means in the context of legal decisions is sometimes quite different from what it means in politics.

[Blue_true]

17. Gorsuch is basically a libertarian. He isn't a cultural warrior

from what I understand. I don’t believe that Roberts want to come close to repealing Roe v Wade. Not sure about Kavanaugh, he is a catholic, but maybe not as doctrinaire as the right hoped. The ruling was likely 5-4, with Roberts and Gorsuch joining the progressives, or 6-3 with Kavanaugh. Those would be my best guesses, but it would be nice if Barrette is pulling a David Souter on the right now that she has a job for life.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

13. K&R

[onenote]

14. Vacated based on the same principle that the emoluments cases were vacated

The underlying order that was being challenged had expired. There was a second abortion rights case that was vacated -- that was an appeal by the state of Tennessee challenging a ruling that' had invalidated the order.

So, while many many armchair lawyers on DU are reaching snap judgments about these various orders, they seem to be missing the big picture: these were essentially unanimous decisions applying a pretty basic principle of law -- that when the action that is being challenged isn't taking place any more, the case is moot and leaving the ruling in place would effectively be an advisory opinion -- something the courts don't issue.

[Hekate]

15. KnR

[BobTheSubgenius]

16. Not exactly the Roe v Wade-shredding heroes the Repubs were drooling over.

Makes the ruling all the better. I hope they're eating their livers.