A controversial new law banning abortion after six weeks in Texas has taken effect after the Supreme Court's inaction.

The Supreme Court and a federal appeals court did not act upon objections from emergency requests brought forth by abortion providers, which means that as of September 1, abortion is illegal in the state of Texas before many people know they are pregnant, CNN reports.

Private lawsuits can therefore be brought against any pregnant person seeking to have an abortion after six weeks.

According to CNN, no other six-week abortion ban has ever come into effect before, meaning that Texas now has one of the strictest pro-life laws in the entire US.

University of Texas Law School professor Steve Vladeck said: "What ultimately happens to this law remains to be seen but now through their inaction the justices have let the tightest abortion restriction since Roe v. Wade be enforced for at least some period of time."

The policy bans abortion after a fetus has a heartbeat, and there are no exceptions even in cases of rape or incest, however, abortions can be carried out after this time because of "medical emergencies."

Pictured below are people protesting against the new law earlier this year.

One of the clinics affected by the new ban, Whole Woman's Health, tweeted to say that it was still carrying out procedures two hours before the ban.

The clinic tweeted: "Our waiting rooms are filled with patients. The anti-abortion protestors are outside, shining lights on the parking light. We are under surveillance. This is what abortion care looks like. Human right warriors."

As per CNN, abortion providers argued prior to the bill's introduction that it would "immediately and catastrophically reduce abortion access in Texas."

They said that the law would be "barring care for at least 85% of Texas abortion patients", and it would put a range of individuals, such as someone driving their friend for an abortion, at risk of legal action.

The introduction of the law has already been met with fury by abortion rights protestors online.

"Access to almost all abortion has just been cut off for millions of people, the impact will be immediate and devastating," the American Civil Liberties Union said on Twitter.

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A Florida lawmaker has introduced an anti-abortion bill that's extremely similar to the controversial law on abortion in Texas that bans abortions after six weeks and deputizes citizens to target anyone who assists in one.

Republican State Rep. Webster Barnaby filed the bill Wednesday, September 22, presenting the potential law that would fine "at least $10,000 for each abortion that the defendant performed or induced in violation of this chapter, and for each abortion performed or induced in violation of this chapter which the defendant aided or abetted."

The law would go into effect July 2022, per AP.

The "Florida Heartbeat Act" changes the state's abortion laws from using the word "fetus," instead replacing it with "unborn child," and it effectively bans abortions after a heartbeat is detected, with few exceptions.

Unlike the Texas law, this bill allows exceptions for rape, incest, and life-threatening cases with the appropriate documentation to confirm.

A spokesperson for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told the Associated Press in a statement: "Governor DeSantis is pro-life.

"The Governor's office is aware that the bill was filed today and like all legislation, we will be monitoring it as it moves through the legislative process in the coming months."

Democrat State Rep. Anna Eskamani, an outspoken advocate for abortion rights, said in a statement in response: "This gross excuse of a bill attacks women and birthing people who are seeking an abortion before they even know they are pregnant.

"It also attempts to mimic Texas by creating a process for civil action towards those that help someone in Florida end a pregnancy after 6 weeks. Extreme attacks on reproductive health are not about policy, it is about control, shame, and will negatively impact communities who already experience barriers to accessing care."

Eskamani added: "We must stop these extreme anti-abortion bills and I know the people of Florida overwhelmingly agree."

In Texas, the controversial new legislation, Senate Bill 8, bans abortions after six weeks in Texas and took effect last week after the Supreme Court's inaction.

The Supreme Court and a federal appeals court did not act upon objections from emergency requests brought forth by abortion providers.

This means that as of September 1, abortion after six weeks is illegal in the state - which is before many people even know they are pregnant, CNN reports.

Private lawsuits can therefore be brought against any pregnant person seeking to have an abortion after six weeks.

This amounts to a near-total ban on abortions and has no provision for victims of rape or incest.

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Bette Midler has suggested that women refuse to have sex with men in the wake on Texas' controversial new abortion law.

Last week, Texas passed a law that banned abortion providers from carrying out terminations after the fetus' heartbeat had been detected - this is usually around the six-week mark. The law cites no exception for pregnancies that are the result of rape or incest, CNN reports.

Additionally, the law can be "policed" by citizens, who can sue abortion providers for $10,000 in successful cases.

The only exception to the law - also known as Senate Bill 8 - is if a "physician believes that a medical emergency exists".

The new law has faced backlash for several reasons, one of which being that many women are unaware that they are pregnant at the six-week mark.

Now, American singer and actress Bette Midler has taken to social media to slam the new law. In one tweet, the 75-year-old writes:

"I suggest that all women refuse to have sex with men until they are guaranteed the right to choose by Congress."

In another tweet, Midler writes: "Why do #antivaxxers and #antimaskers get to live the "my body, my choice" life, but pregnant women are not allowed to? How is this fair?"

She adds: "The cruelty of the #GOP is endless. We are suffering COVID-19, hurricanes, apocalyptic flooding, wildfires from hell, joblessness, homelessness, evictions, racial strife, and they pick this hideous time to pile on yet another shock to women, by taking away their right to choose."

Continuing to speak out against the law on Friday, Midler wrote: "This isn’t about guns, speech, money or war. It’s about women, their lives, their bodies and their autonomy."

President Biden has also spoken out against the new law, calling the Supreme Court's failure to not block the law an "unprecedented assault" on women's rights, per BBC News.

"The highest court of our land will allow millions in Texas in need of critical reproductive care to suffer while courts sift through procedural complexities," Biden added.

The POTUS has now launched a "whole-of-government" response to combat the new law, which Biden says "unleashes unconstitutional chaos and empowers self-anointed enforcers to have devastating impacts."

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Uma Thurman has issued a scathing critique of Texas' abortion laws in an op-ed column for The Washington Post.

The Kill Bill actor stated that she had followed the law "with great sadness and something akin to horror", and that she wanted to share her own experiences "in the hope of drawing the flames of controversy away from the vulnerable women on whom this law will have an immediate effect."

The abortion law  — which is one of the harshest in the US — came into effect at the start of September, and bans abortions when fetal cardiac activity is detected. Controversially, this is normally before many women have even realized that they are pregnant, and could ban the procedure as early as six weeks into pregnancy.

It includes cases where women have been impregnated as a result of rape or incest. There is an exception for medical emergencies.

Thurman, 51, revealed in the op-ed how she accidentally became pregnant in her late teens by an older man. Despite wanting to keep the child, she and her family ultimately decided that a termination would be the best option due to her age and circumstances.

"I started my acting career at 15, working in an environment where I was often the only kid in the room," she wrote. "In my late teens, I was accidentally impregnated by a much older man. I was living out of a suitcase in Europe, far from my family, and about to start a job. I struggled to figure out what to do. I wanted to keep the baby, but how?"

The actor continued:

"We decided as a family that I couldn’t go through with the pregnancy, and agreed that termination was the right choice. My heart was broken nonetheless.

"The abortion I had as a teenager was the hardest decision of my life, one that caused me anguish then and that saddens me even now, but it was the path to the life full of joy and love that I have experienced.

"Choosing not to keep that early pregnancy allowed me to grow up and become the mother I wanted and needed to be."

The Pulp Fiction star added that she struggled with the shame that she internalized as a result of the procedure, referring to it as her "darkest secret".

She went on to deem the Texas abortion law a "human rights crisis" and a "discriminatory tool against those who are economically disadvantaged".

The actor, who now has three children, added that she was sharing her story so that "some light will shine through, reaching women and girls who might feel a shame that they can't protect themselves from and have no agency over."

The Texas abortion law is currently in effect in the state, but is being contested in the courts.

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Greta Thunberg has shared her thoughts on the new Texas abortion law with a very blunt chart.

The 18-year-old Swedish activist took to social media in the wake of the southern state passing
a new law - known as Senate Bill 8 - that bans abortion providers from carrying out terminations after the fetus' heartbeat had been detected.

Per CNN, this is usually around the six-week mark - a time when many women are unaware that they are pregnant.

The law cites no exception for pregnancies that are the result of rape or incest, and it can be "policed" by citizens who are able to sue abortion providers for $10,000 in successful cases.

The only exception to the law is if a "physician believes that a medical emergency exists".

Taking to Twitter on Friday, Thunberg shared the following chart with her five million followers:

Along with the caption "the reasons why women have abortions", the chart reads "personal choice" at 60%, a very to-the-point "F**k off" at 22%, then "Not your concern" at 10%, and finally "Mind your business" at 8%.

The tweet has since amassed over 197,000 'likes' and more than 45,000 retweets, as of this writing.

President Biden has also spoken out against the new law, calling the Supreme Court's failure to not block the law an "unprecedented assault" on women's rights, per BBC News.

"The highest court of our land will allow millions in Texas in need of critical reproductive care to suffer while courts sift through procedural complexities," Biden added.

The POTUS has now launched a "whole-of-government" response to combat the new law, which Biden says "unleashes unconstitutional chaos and empowers self-anointed enforcers to have devastating impacts."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has also responded to the Supreme Court's response to the bill, saying in a statement:

"The Supreme Court's cowardly, dark-of-night decision to uphold a flagrantly unconstitutional assault on women's rights and health is staggering. That this radically partisan Court chose to do so without a full briefing, oral arguments or providing a full, signed opinion is shameful."

Pelosi added that Senate Bill 8 "unleashes one of the most disturbing, unprecedented and far-reaching assaults on health care providers."

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