Texas legislators have given their approval to a measure that permits private citizens to file lawsuits against manufacturers of abortion pills, as well as doctors and individuals who distribute the medication by mail. This decision positions Texas to be the first state attempting to impose restrictions on the most widely used method of abortion.
This proposed legislation is unprecedented in the U.S., introducing an additional layer of abortion limitations in Texas, a state known for having some of the most stringent abortion laws and already prohibiting nearly all abortions.
The bill is now headed to Republican Governor Greg Abbott, an advocate against abortion, who is anticipated to sign it into law. Set to become effective in December, the law is likely to face legal challenges from proponents of abortion rights.
The proposal, having cleared a final vote in the Republican-controlled Texas Senate, is touted by supporters as a crucial mechanism to enforce the state’s abortion ban and safeguard women and fetuses. Critics, on the other hand, argue it serves not only to further restrict abortion but also to potentially intimidate providers in other states where they comply with local laws. Additionally, they express concerns about it fostering vigilante behavior.
The measure would empower citizens to provide enforcement
If implemented, this measure would enable Texas residents to sue parties involved in the manufacture, distribution, or provision of abortion drugs to anyone in Texas, with penalties reaching up to $100,000. However, women who procure the pills for personal use would be exempt from liability.
According to the bill, providers could face a $100,000 penalty. The total amount would be available to the pregnant woman, the man responsible for the pregnancy, or other close family members, while others who file lawsuits could receive only $10,000, with the remaining $90,000 directed to charitable organizations.
Lawmakers also added language to address worries that women would be turned in for seeking to end pregnancies by men who raped them or abusive partners. For instance, a man who impregnated a woman through sexual assault would not be eligible.
The measure has provisions that bar making public the identity or medical details about a woman who receives the pills.
It wasn’t until those provisions were added, along with the limit of a $10,000 payment for people who aren’t themselves injured by the abortion, that several major Texas anti-abortion groups backed the bill.
Texas Right to Life, one of the state’s most prominent anti-abortion groups, called it the “strongest pro-life law” in the country.
“This trend is killing tens of thousands of babies a year and harming their mothers, but today, our law became a blueprint for the rest of the country,” said John Seago, the group’s president.
The idea of using citizens rather than government officials to enforce abortion bans is not new in Texas. It was at the heart of the 2021 law that curtailed abortion there months before the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for other state bans to take effect.
In the earlier law, citizens could collect $10,000 for bringing a successful lawsuit against a provider or anyone who helps someone obtain an abortion. But that measure didn’t explicitly seek to go after out-of-state providers.
“It is an attempt to turn a Texas abortion ban into a nationwide abortion ban,” Democratic state Sen. Carol Alvarado said before the bill cleared a final vote. “If California or New York tried to impose their gun laws or climate policies on Texas, this legislature would be outraged.”
Abortion pills have proliferated, even where they’re banned
Pills are a tricky topic for abortion opponents. They were the most common abortion method in the U.S. even before the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed states to enforce abortion bans.
They’ve become even more widely used since then. Their availability is a key reason that the number of abortions has risen nationally, even though Texas and 11 other states are enforcing bans on abortion in all stages of pregnancy.
The pills have continued to flow partly because at least eight Democratic-led states have enacted laws that seek to protect medical providers from legal consequences when they use telehealth to prescribe the pills to women who are in states where abortion is illegal.
Texas is already in legal fights over shield laws and abortion pills
Earlier this year a Texas judge ordered a New York doctor to pay more than $100,000 in penalties for providing abortion pills to a Dallas-area woman.
The same provider, Dr. Maggie Carpenter, faces criminal charges from a Louisiana prosecutor for similar allegations.
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New York officials are invoking their states’ shield laws to block extradition of Carpenter and to refuse to file the civil judgment.
If higher courts side with Louisiana or Texas officials, it could damage the shield laws.
Meanwhile the attorneys general of Texas and Florida are seeking to join Idaho, Kansas and Missouri in an effort to get courts to roll back U.S. Food and Drug Administration approvals for mifepristone, one of the drugs usually used in combination for medication abortions, contending that there are safety concerns. They say it needs tighter controls because of those concerns.
If the states are successful, it’s possible the drug could be distributed only in-person and not by telehealth.
Major medical organizations including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists say the drug is safe.
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