Abortion providers, and even manufacturers, will be liable for penalties over pills mailed into the state
Residents of Texas can now sue people who they suspect of making, distributing or mailing abortion pills in or out of the state, in a first-of-its-kind law that aims to dam the flood of abortion pills into states that ban the procedure.
Under the new law, which went into effect on Thursday, abortion providers could face penalties of at least $100,000 if they mail pills into Texas. Manufacturers of abortion pills are also eligible to be sued, although women who take abortion pills are not.
Anti-abortion activists are hoping that the law will escalate the war between states that protect abortion rights and those that do not, since it marks the first legislative challenge to “shield laws”. Enacted in a handful of blue states after the fall of Roe v Wade, shield laws aim to protect abortion providers from out-of-state prosecution, even if they are shipping pills across state borders. By the end of 2024, abortion providers in shield-law states like Massachusetts and New York were facilitating more than 12,000 abortions a month in states that ban the procedure, including in Texas, according to #WeCount, a research project by the Society of Family Planning.
My belief is that Texas knows it’s impossible to actually enforce these laws, so they’re ofsetting the responsibility to citizens. Instead of “See something, say something” it’s “see something, sue someone”, which perfectly represents some parts of American legal culture.
It’s about taking the state out of the process. If citizens are suing each other, it’s an entirely civil matter that keeps Texas from having to go to court against another state. SCOTUS has original jurisdiction (i.e. the case goes straight to SCOTUS instead of working through the lower courts) for disputes between states, and this is NOT something the conservatives want going to SCOTUS.
Either they lose, or they win and set some precedents they do NOT want. Imagine California being able to go after Winchester when a California resident buys ammo in Nevada.
we’re still pretending like precedent matters? cute
common law is a joke, “precedent” is just shit some inbred english aristocrats came up with to corrupt roman/civil law, in a bid to hold onto their waning power
Texas knows it’s impossible to actually enforce these laws
It isn’t impossible. But by commodifying the act of enforcement they can effectively send kick backs to their private sector allies.
This isn’t a system for finding and punishing violators, it’s a system for shaking down “liberal” business interests and extorting them via civil courts.
The only citizens who get to play this game are those that already signed up for TPUSA or joined the Heritage Foundation or Federalist Society or are otherwise a foot soldier in the culture wars
Those of us in legal states should just start mailing them pills to the governor’s house in TX. Good luck prosecuting everyone.
Use his address as the return address. Drop them off at postal boxes/ post offices so they can’t be traced back to the sender.
That’s the thing, though. The entire purpose of this bill is to make it so they don’t have to prosecute anyone.
They’re turning it into a civil suit, not a criminal one.
Yup. It’s crowdfunding the prosecution, by allowing anyone to bring civil lawsuits.
It also keeps it out of the criminal courts, because Texas specifically doesn’t want one state’s shield laws to try protecting someone from another state’s criminal prosecution. If that happens, the case would go straight to the SCOTUS because they have original jurisdiction in state-vs-state cases. And conservatives specifically don’t want a ruling like this to go in their favor, because it would open the floodgates for liberal states to criminally prosecute conservatives whenever they do something.
For instance, imagine California being able to prosecute an oil company for causing asthma because emissions blow across state lines. Being able to prosecute a gun manufacturer whenever a school shooting happens with weapons that were purchased legally in other states. Being able to prosecute a car manufacturer whenever a crash happens with an out-of-state driver. Texas specifically doesn’t want liberal states to be able to do this, so they want to avoid setting any kind of precedent with the SCOTUS.
Women who are capable of conceiving should leave that state if at all possible. If not possible, then become celibate.
Are they just attempting to throw the concept of “standing” clear out the window?
The supreme court gave Texas a blank check to ignore the law. Unsurprisingly they have continued to abuse it.
We really need to go back to minding everyone’s privacy, and standing in our own lane.
