Texas abortion providers scrambled to help as many patients as possible on Tuesday while the clock ticked closer to midnight, marking the start of the countrys most extreme abortion ban .

The new law, known as Senate Bill 8, makes providing abortion care after six weeks gestation a criminal act in Texas, and allows ordinary citizens to collect bounties for enforcing it. Many women are not even aware they are pregnant until they are at least six weeks along meaning the law has almost entirely halted abortion access across the state.

It also makes no exceptions for pregnancies that result from rape or incest.

Vanessa Rodriguez, who manages the call center at Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas in Dallas, said Wednesday that many people are confused by the new restrictions.

People dont often understand why we cannot serve them, Rodriguez said. They are not interested in or involved with politics. These people, theyre individuals, and their focus is on their education, their families, their work and daily lives.

They dont expect their zip code to determine whether they can access health care, and they certainly dont expect their neighbors to be empowered to investigate their private medical decisions, she added. Were getting patients who are scared, confused, angry. Theyre asking questions about if abortion is still legal.

Abortion bans are typically enforced by state officials and agencies. The Texas legislation is unique in that it swaps civil lawsuits for government enforcement, making it more difficult to challenge in court.

Any private citizen even if they dont live in the state can sue anyone they suspect of aiding or abetting abortion care in Texas and be rewarded with at least $10,000 if they win, with all their legal fees paid for by the other side. The law allows for doctors and nurses to be sued, as well as any friend or family member who drives a patient to a clinic.

Anti-abortion activists are already soliciting tips online about people who may have helped someone get an abortion.