The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that state licensing officials have no authority to enforce a law banning abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, apparently foreclosing a lawsuit by abortion providers that seeks to block the law.
The state supreme court ruled in response to a certified question by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at New Orleans, which is where the suit landed after the Supreme Court ruled in the case in December. The Supreme Court had allowed the suit to proceed against state officials with authority over medical licenses but not other defendants.
