Now the Supreme Court justices must block the law while we ask the court to review our case. The Supreme Court is not a legislature. The justices vowed, as nominees, to follow precedent, not upend it because one justice has retired and another taken his or her place. Even the dissenters in Whole Woman’s Health, who include Chief Justice John Roberts, are obliged now to follow and apply it.

It’s also alarming that all that’s required for Roe v. Wade to be eroded and Whole Woman’s Health to be a dead letter is for the court to do nothing, creating an outcome that is unfaithful to existing law.

This is likely not the last time the Supreme Court will be in this position. Lower courts around the country will consider , in the coming months, perhaps a record number of unconstitutional abortion restrictions, and if other courts go rogue, as the Fifth Circuit did here, the Supreme Court must intervene to preserve the rule of law.

If the Supreme Court fails to do so in the Louisiana case, the consequences will be dire for women there. The state has just three clinics, down from 11 in 2000. If the law goes into effect, more will be forced to close because it's so difficult to secure admitting privileges . Close to 10,000 women seek abortions in Louisiana each year, and one or two doctors cannot care for all of them.

Women who still have access to abortion services would face delays, be forced to travel long distances and have to endure other obstacles that could harm their health. Undoubtedly, some women will seek out unlicensed or unsafe abortions, or be compelled to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term. The hardships will be greatest for women in poverty, who already face the greatest barriers to access.

So far this year, state legislators around the country have proposed more than 100 bills that would further restrict abortion. Anti-abortion politicians are hoping that the Supreme Court will stand by and let them legislate abortion out of reach — without the court ever having to reverse Roe v. Wade and related cases assuring access to abortion. That would be death to Roe by a thousand cuts.

The rule of law is on the line, and so is the ability of women in Louisiana and beyond to make their own health decisions and control their own fate.

This article has been updated to reflect news developments.