Abortion rights activists hold placards and chant outside of the U.S. Supreme Court ahead of a ruling on abortion clinic restrictions on June 27, 2016 in Washington, D.C. Credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty 

“Abhorrent” and “unconscionable” were words used Wednesday by women’s health and rights advocates to describe the latest extreme ban on abortion care as Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law a measure that bans the procedure after six weeks and allows virtually any private citizen to attempt to penalize abortion providers in the state.

The law, which provides no exceptions for survivors or rape or incest, is set to take effect in September.

“The cruelty is so clearly the point,” tweeted NARAL Pro-Choice America. 

Along with the ban, which would put abortion care out of reach for women before many even find out they are pregnant, Senate Bill 8 allows any citizen—regardless of their connection to a patient or lack thereof—to sue anyone who “aids or abets” abortion care.

As The Guardian reported, the measure opens up “a breathtakingly wide range of possible people and groups” who could be sued for helping someone […]

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