Marion McKeone: Supreme Court braced for split as Texas abortion law is challenged

Two lawsuits seeking to overturn controversial new abortion legislation will be heard by the US's highest legal authority tomorrow morning

Pro-choice activists gather in front of the US Supreme Court building in Washington DC after a rally earlier this month. Picture: Getty

Tomorrow, the US Supreme Court will hear arguments in two separate cases challenging Texas’s controversial new abortion law. It will be the court’s most eagerly anticipated decision since Bush vs Gore, which effectively decided the 2000 presidential election by judicial fiat.

At 10am, the nine justices will consider the first of two lawsuits seeking to topple the law, known as Senate Bill 8, which bans abortions as soon as a foetal heartbeat can be detected, ...