Texas legislature passes bill allowing lawsuits against out-of-state abortion pill providers

A measure approved by the Texas Legislature this week would give private citizens the right to sue people outside the state who provide chemical abortion drugs to Texans. 

House Bill 7 cleared the Senate Sept. 3 after earlier passage in the House, and now awaits action from Gov. Greg Abbott, the Texas Standard reported.

Texas law prohibits abortion except in cases where the mother’s life or a major bodily function is at risk. Still, abortion advocates have continued to push access to the drugs mifepristone and misoprostol, which some Texas residents obtain through out-of-state telehealth prescriptions and mail-order shipments.

HB7 would allow lawsuits against those who prescribe, manufacture, or assist Texans in obtaining abortion drugs, while exempting women who take the pills from liability.

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Supporters of the bill have pointed to cases in which women were mailed abortion drugs without proper medical guidance, leading to dangerous complications.

Recent lawsuits in Texas have drawn attention to other risks. A woman recently filed suit against the father of her child, alleging he slipped abortion drugs into her drink and caused the death of their unborn baby. A month earlier, a Texas man brought a lawsuit against a California doctor accused of mailing abortion pills to his girlfriend, which he says led to the loss of their two unborn children.

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Republican lawmakers who sponsored the measure say it is intended to protect women. 

“Make no mistake: Big Pharma is taking advantage of loopholes in the law and mailing these pills directly to vulnerable women,” said Sen. Bryan Hughes of Mineola, who advanced the Senate version of the bill, according to the Texas Standard.

The bill was revised after an earlier version stalled in the Legislature, with changes that exempt hospitals, physicians, and search engines from liability.

Changes to the bill also addressed concerns raised by some pro-life groups about financial incentives for lawsuits. Amy O’Donnell of Texas Alliance for Life said her organization worried that the original bill would encourage “financial bounty hunters.” 

The final text, however, limits the largest financial awards to the woman involved and her immediate family while directing other awards partly to charity, which, according to O’Donnell, “lowers the incentive for bad actors to go after suits for personal gain."

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