Democrats rush to find strategy to counter Texas abortion law

Biden administration's options are limited and filibuster poses roadblock to federal legislation

Joe Biden and top Democrats are scrambling for a strategy to counter Republican restrictions on women's reproductive rights amid the fallout from a Texas statute that has banned abortions in the state from as early as six weeks into pregnancy - but the options available to the administration are thin.

The conservative-dominated supreme court in a night-time ruling refused an emergency request to block the Texas law from taking effect, in a decision that amounted to a crushing defeat for reproductive rights and threatened major ramifications in other states nationwide.