Texans who wish to have an abortion after six weeks will now be forced to travel across state lines, which only adds to the cost of such a procedure.

The legislation, which came into effect on Wednesday, goes directly against the precedent set by the 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v Wade, which ruled that access to safe and legal abortion is a constitutional right.

At least 12 other states – including Georgia, Kentucky and Mississippi – have enacted similar early abortion bans, but all have been blocked from going into effect.

The Supreme Court’s decision not to block the new law in Texas comes after the death of US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the end of 2020, which allowed former president Donald Trump to appoint yet another conservative judge (in this case, Amy Coney Barrett) and give the right a 6-3 majority (the ruling over the Texas law ended 5-4).

Texas 6-week abortion ban: this viral tweet just highlighted the draconian reality of the new law