Texas will sign legal legislation that allows private citizens to file out-of-state providers who provide abortion pills to state residents.
The bill – expected to be signed by the governor on Thursday – allows residents to file lawsuits against abortion drugs manufacturers or distributors, with successful plaintiffs entitled to at least $100,000 (£74,500) in damages.
Texas’s ban on abortion is almost completely forbidden, and opponents of the new law say it’s a way to intimidate abortion providers outside the state.
In the United States, nearly two-thirds of abortions are performed through medications – a two-pre-drilling regimen using mifepristone and misoprostol, performed within the first 12 weeks.
The indicted provider will be forced to pay the pregnant woman who is a man who impregnates her or other relatives to compensate $100,000. Women who end up getting pregnant with medication cannot be prosecuted.
If the lawsuit is brought by someone who does not belong to the family, they will only receive $10,000. The bill says the remaining $90,000 is handed over to charities.
The legislation is expected to face multiple legal challenges, just like other abortion restrictions in the past.
Blair Wallace of the Texas Civil Liberties Union said the bill was motivated by “neighbors’ reproductive lives, further quarantine pregnant Texans and punish those who care about them.”
Texas is one of the states that severely restricted nearly all abortions after the 2022 Supreme Court ruling overturned Roe V Wade.
A few Democrat-led states in the United States allow abortion providers to prescribe abortion medications to patients elsewhere in the United States under the so-called “Shield Act,” thereby keeping these providers legally protected from out-of-state prosecutions.
However, Texas legislation explicitly states that the Shield Law cannot be used as a defense in the lawsuit filed under it.
The Supreme Court can ultimately decide which state laws prevail.
Health & Wellness Contributor
A wellness enthusiast and certified nutrition advisor, Meera covers everything from healthy living tips to medical breakthroughs. Her articles aim to inform and inspire readers to live better every day.
