Marine accused of abortion-drug drink spiking files countersuit

A Marine accused of spiking a Texas woman’s drink with abortion-inducing drugs filed a countersuit this week in federal court, alleging that she faked the incident to provide evidence for Texas lawmakers’ new pro-life legislation. Chris Cooprider’s attorney argued that the woman, Liana Davis, filed her wrongful death lawsuit against Cooprider immediately before a state Senate committee held a hearing on the Woman and Child Protection Act, according to the local media outlet Houston Chronicle. The legislation, which passed on Wednesday, allows private citizens to sue anyone prescribing, manufacturing, or distributing mail-in abortion pills for $100,000 or more per violation. Davis’ attorney, Jonathan Mitchell, helped craft that legislation, according to the Houston Chronicle.

What did Davis say in her initial lawsuit? Davis earlier argued in her court filings that Cooprider laced her drink with the drugs without her consent. The pills caused her to hemorrhage and killed her 8-week-old unborn baby, she alleged. Cooprider denied Davis’ claims and is seeking $1.1 billion in damages in his countersuit, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Dig deeper: Read Lauren Canterberry’s report on the passage of the Woman and Child Protection Act.