US Supreme Court refuse to block controversial Texas abortion law

The justices of the US Supreme Court have voted not to halt a new law in Texas that will strip most women in the state of the right to an abortion.

The controversial Texas law bans abortions once doctors can detect a foetal heartbeat, which usually occurs before a woman knows she is pregnant at around six weeks gestation.

The decision not to intervene is the first concrete demonstration of the impact of the new, more conservative, line-up of the Supreme Court.