Texas paves way for lawsuits against abortion pill providers

Texas lawmakers on Wednesday passed the Woman and Child Protection Act to fine individuals and organizations that ship abortion drugs into the state. The state Senate passed its version of the bill last month but the House could not vote on its companion bill because too many representatives were absent from the session. Gov. Greg Abbott last month called for a second special session and the House reintroduced the legislation. Lawmakers in both chambers of the legislature passed the measure, sending it to Abbott’s desk where he is expected to sign it. The bill would take effect in December as the first law in the country to directly penalize those who mail abortion drugs in violation of Texas’ pro-life protections. Once signed into law, it is likely to be challenged by pro-abortion activists.

What are the details of the bill? The law will allow any resident to sue a person or group that mails the drugs mifepristone and misoprostol into the state for use in medication abortions. Chemical abortions are now the most common method used in the United States to kill unborn babies. Texas Right to Life estimates that at least 19,000 abortion pills are shipped into Texas each year, despite the state’s near-total protection of unborn babies. Under the new legislation, individuals who manufacture, transport, or provide abortion pills to Texas residents could be fined up to $100,000 if they are sued. The measure would protect from lawsuits the women who take abortion drugs, Texas hospitals, doctors in the state, and those who manufacture the drugs for use in medical emergencies. Only a pregnant woman or her family would be able to collect the full amount awarded in a lawsuit, but others could keep up to $10,000 and must donate the remaining $90,000 to charity. Enforcement of the law would be handled entirely through civil lawsuits, not government officials.

Has anyone tried to sue abortion pill distributors? Texas resident Jerry Rodriguez in July sued California abortionist Remy Coeytaux for allegedly sending abortion drugs to his girlfriend on two separate occasions. The lawsuit accuses Coeytaux of the wrongful death of an unborn child and claims he violated both Texas state law and a federal law that prohibits mailing materials intended for use in an abortion. Former Texas Solicitor General Jonathan Mitchell filed the suit on behalf of Rodriguez in an attempt to challenge so-called shield laws in other states meant to protect abortionists from prosecution elsewhere in the country. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton late last year filed a lawsuit against a New York abortionist for sending abortion pills to Texas, but local officials in New York state so far have blocked efforts to fine the individual. Rodriguez is seeking damages of at least $75,000 and a court order barring Coeytaux from mailing abortion drugs.

Dig deeper: Read Maria Baer’s opinion piece about how Planned Parenthood’s ideology leads to the use of abortion drugs obtained online to kill unborn babies without their mother’s knowledge.