UCLA School of Law

In United States v. Texas and Whole Woman's Health v. Jackson, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari to consider the federal courts' authority to review S.B. 8, Texas's "heartbeat" abortion law. S.B. 8's defenders have argued that its private enforcement scheme is "entirely commonplace." This brief shows that S.B. 8 departs from the models it purports to draw upon in ways that elevate vigilantism over the rule of law. The brief argues that S.B. 8's departures from traditional private rights of action violate due process, and that S.B. 8's novel enforcement scheme sets a dangerous precedent that already is being exported to other areas, with grave implications for constitutional governance and the rule of law.