Texas lawmakers advance abortion pill restrictions | The Hill

Visit Website

By: Alejandra O'Connell- Domenech

“It is already illegal to traffic abortion drugs in Texas under the Human Life Protection Act, and our priority remains enforcement of that and other laws,” said Amy O’Donnell, communications director for Texas Alliance for Life, an anti-abortion group.

“The revised version of HB 7 provides another tool against illegal abortion-by-mail while including vital protections for women.”

O’Donnell added that the organization supports the revised version of the bill since it now protects women’s privacy by barring the disclosure of personal or medical information in court filings and prohibits some abusers from being able to sue, including people accused of domestic violence or of impregnating a person through sexual assault.

Texas emerges as new battleground in abortion fight | The Hill

Visit Website

By: JUSTINE COLEMAN

Other six-week bans have been tested in the courts, but experts describe the Texas law as “unique” because it’s enforced by private citizens instead of public authorities. Under the new statute, private residents are incentivized to sue anyone who provides or aids and abets in an abortion, with the possibility of receiving at least $10,000 if their lawsuit is successful.

That level of civil enforcement “has never been tried to this extent before,” said Joe Pojman, the executive director of Texas Alliance for Life.

“I think the nation may well be looking to see whether this method of enforcement will survive federal and state court challenges,” he said. “This may be a dress rehearsal for the time in a matter of months that the Supreme Court does allow states to fully protect unborn babies from abortion.”