Texas is tackling Roe v. Wade with a 'vigilante' economy, where rewards of $10,000 or more go to lawsuits against anyone thought to even aid an abortion
"Outrageously, it deputizes private citizens to bring lawsuits against anyone" who aids an abortion, President Joe Biden said in a statement.
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- A Texas law took effect today that bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
- The law mobilizes private citizens to sue anyone they believe aided in an abortion in any way.
- Critics worry that the $10,000 minimum prize for a successful lawsuit will fuel "vigilantes" in the state.
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A new Texas law that bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy includes a $10,000 incentive that could fuel an anti-abortion economy in the state.
According to the law, private citizens can sue anyone seen to be "aiding and abetting" an abortion - whether or not they have any personal connection to them. Anyone found to have advised, helped pay for, or given a ride to an abortion clinic is fair game, including teachers, parents, clergy, Uber drivers, and friends.
If the plaintiff wins the case, they could be awarded a minimum of $10,000, plus attorneys' fees. The defendant, on the other hand, would not qualify for legal fee relief, no matter the outcome of the case. In this way, the law incentivizes widespread prosecution, with no disincentive for baseless claims.
In a statement Wednesday, President Joe Biden said the law "blatantly violates" Roe v. Wade, which gave national protection to abortions in 1973. He vowed to "protect and defend" Roe, while saying the new Texas law would "significantly impair" access to essential healthcare, especially for people of color and low income communities.
"And, outrageously, it deputizes private citizens to bring lawsuits against anyone who they believe has helped another person get an abortion, which might even include family members, health care workers, front desk staff at a health care clinic, or strangers with no connection to the individual," the statement read.
"Anyone - the barista at Starbucks or some other concerned individual - could sue anyone who assists a pregnant woman in terminating her pregnancy," legal expert and professor at New York University Melissa Murray, told the news site The 19th. "That could be the physician who performs the procedure, the clinic staff person who checks her in, the Uber driver who might drive her to the facility."
Whole Women's Health Health, an operator of licensed abortion facilities in Fort Worth, McAllen, and McKinney, Texas, led a lawsuit against defendants including the state of Texas, decrying the "vigilante" conditions this decision would create.
The law does not include exceptions for rape or incest.
After the Supreme Court failed to make a call on an emergency petition from Texas abortion groups calling for the law to be put on hold, it went into effect on Wednesday. It's possible the court could issue a stay in the coming days.
Directly before Biden's election, the death of former Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg swung the balance of the court in a more conservative direction, bringing their decades-long goal of overturning Roe closer to fruition. The Supreme Court's sudden decision not to block the Texas law may be bringing that moment imminently near.
As CNN reported, Texas abortion groups say most women don't even know they are pregnant at six weeks, and so the law would block 85% of abortions. The Supreme Court could overturn Roe v. Wade itself when it hears a Mississippi case this fall called "Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health."