Supreme Court Declines to Block Restrictive Texas Abortion Law 

A divided Supreme Court late on Wednesday allowed the nation’s toughest restrictions on abortions to take effect, declining to block a new Texas law that bars the procedure after about six weeks of pregnancy. The court’s nighttime order, which rejected an emergency request by clinics and abortion-rights advocates, marks a turning point in the legal battle over abortion rights and comes the day the Texas ban went into force. While not a final ruling on the measure’s constitutionality, the court’s action validates, at least temporarily, a novel attempt by Texas lawmakers to insulate antiabortion legislation from court challenge. The unsigned order came on a 5-4 vote, with most of the conservative justices in the majority… (Excerpts from WSJ)