The Supreme Court issued a procedural ruling late Dec. 16 that will prolong the ongoing litigation over the Texas “heartbeat” law that bans abortions after six weeks of gestation and crowdsources enforcement to members of the public. The brief order, signed by Justice Neil Gorsuch, sends the case to the New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit–which is perceived as a conservative appellate court—as Texas officials had requested. The high court refused to stay the Texas law. “We know the Court of Appeals is inclined to slow walk this challenge and allow Texas to enforce the law relative to District Court,” Leah Litman, a law professor at the University of Michigan told The Hill newspaper. Abortion chain Whole Woman’s Health had asked for the case to be sent back to a specific federal district court, which is considered to have been receptive in general to its challenge …