The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday said a narrowly tailored challenge to Texas’ near-total ban on abortions, SB8, could proceed in federal courts but declined for a second time to put the law on hold.

SB8 outlaws abortions after six weeks of pregnancy and, in an unprecedented enforcement arrangement, deputizes everyday citizens to sue anyone who "aids or abets" an unlawful abortion in order to collect at least $10,000 in bounty.

The law has been in effect for more than 100 days, denying access to abortion care for thousand Notebook

Abortion opponents celebrated the ruling as vindication of a state’s ability to enact laws as its elected representatives see fit.

"We celebrate that the Texas Heartbeat Act will remain in effect, saving the lives of unborn children and protecting mothers while litigation continues in lower courts," said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony List, an anti-abortion rig