Attorney General Phil Weiser is joining a coalition of Democratic AGs urging the federal Supreme Court to put a halt to what they describe as an “unconstitutional” ban on abortion approved by Texas state lawmakers.

In an amicus brief submitted on Monday to the high court, the coalition led by Massachusetts AG Maura Healey took aim at Texas' Senate Bill 8, which they describe as “direct contravention of nearly a half-century of binding precedent” established by Roe v. Wade in 1973, which grants the constitutional right to have an abortion before fetal viability is established.

The Texas legislation bans abortions after doctors can detect a fetal heartbeat. That generally comes around the sixth week of pregnancy, a mark critics say is effectively an abortion ban since many women do not realize they are pregnant before that point. The bill was introduced in March, signed into law in May and went into effect on Sept. 1.

Nearly a week later, the Biden administration sued the state over the provision, which resulted in a U.S. district court judged earlier this month issuing an order to block the bill’s enforcement. A panel of federal appellate judges last week overturned that order, though the Biden administration is calling on the Supreme Court to halt enforcement of the measure while its legal challenge works through the courts.

According to the coalition, the Texas measure “represents a new and dangerous frontier in the quest by some state legislatures to restrict or eliminate abortion access in violation of this Court’s precedent.”

“In open disregard of such precedent, S.B. 8 not only imposes an across the-board ban on almost all abortions in Texas, but also attempts to thwart judicial review and insulate the State from accountability for its unconstitutional ban by purporting to create only a private enforcement scheme,” the coalition wrote in the brief.

That’s a reference to the unique structure of the bill, which is designed to dodge legal challenges by leaving enforcement of the bill’s provisions to private citizens.

The bill explicitly forbids any “officer or employee of a state or local governmental entity” from enforcing it, but Texans can file lawsuits in civil court against anyone who “aids or abets the performance or inducement of an abortion.” Those who are successfully sued are liable for a penalty of at least $10,000, which would be awarded to the successful plaintiffs on top of recouping legal fees.

The coalition in its brief slammed that legislative maneuver as a “bounty hunting scheme” and said the measure was “intentionally designed to encourage litigation against providers in Texas, while also eliminating a basic safeguard against unfounded suits” by barring alleged abortion providers from recovering attorney fees and other costs if successful in court.

“Together, these provisions create powerful financial incentives to sue under S.B. 8, with seemingly zero downside to filing harassing, vexatious, or frivolous litigation,” the coalition wrote.

Those provisions, combined with what the coalition described as the “vague and expansive ‘aiding or abetting’” measures, also prompted concern from the AGS about non-Texas citizens.

“Countless individuals and organizations in our States could be targeted under S.B. 8, including family and friends who provide support to people terminating their pregnancies prior to viability in Texas; academics and clinicians affiliated with institutions in our States who perform research used to support abortion access in Texas; people in our States who donate or provide in-kind support to abortion funds and other abortion advocacy groups in Texas; students who reside in our States but attend schools in Texas and volunteer as clinic escorts or in other capacities that support abortion access; nonprofit organizations headquartered in our States that are engaged in abortion advocacy in Texas; attorneys who reside in our States who work on abortion access in Texas; and many others,” the coalition said.

The brief also highlights “cross-border harms” resulting from an influx of Texans seeking abortions straining resources and making it more difficult to receive timely care in New Mexico, California, Colorado, Illinois and Nevada.

Along with Weiser and Healey, the coalition features Democratic AGs from California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.