The man who sued the women who helped his ex-wife abort (and who reflects the harshness of a new Texas law)

a man of Texas filed a wrongful death lawsuit against three women for helping his ex-wife obtain abortion pills last year.

The lawsuit says that under Texas law, “a person who assists a pregnant woman in obtaining a self-managed abortion committed the crime of murder.”

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The legal action was filed by Marcus Silva in Galveston County, and relies heavily on text messages between his ex-wife Brittni Silva and their three friends Jackie Noyola, Amy Carpenter and Aracely Garcia, Reuters reported.

This is the first lawsuit of its kind in Texas since the US Supreme Court annulled constitutional protections for abortion, based on Roe v. Wade, the historic ruling that since 1973 guaranteed the right to abortion in the country.

Marcus Silva demands US$1 million in compensation from each of the defendants.

What does the lawsuit say?

The lawsuit alleges that the defendants allegedly sent Brittni Silva information about Aid Accessan international group that provides abortion medications by mail order.

Aracely García would have facilitated the delivery of the pills to Silva.

The legal action claims that the drug maker will also be sued once it is identified.

Silva’s ex-wife is not listed as a defendant. Under Texas law, a pregnant person is exempt from going to trial. The couple already have two daughters.

Pregnancy in the middle of a breakup

The lawsuit alleges that she learned she was pregnant in July 2022, two months after filing for divorce.

The text messages reveal that she was worried that he would try to maintain the relationship if he found out about the pregnancy.

“I know that he will use it against me either way”the pregnant woman said in text messages attached to the lawsuit, the newspaper reported. Texas Tribune. “If I had told him before, (…) he would use it as [una forma para] try to stay with me And afterwards I know that she will try to act like she has some right to make this decision.”

The couple’s divorce was finalized in February 2023.

The restriction on abortion in Texas has caused many clinics in neighboring states to be inundated with Texan patients. (GETTY IMAGES)

The women are also charged with the conspiracy chargeas they allegedly told Silva’s ex-wife to hide the pregnancy and messages about the baby from her.

Restrictions in Texas

The US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, a month before Brittni Silva became pregnant. The state law banning abortion went into effect a month later.

Since then, providing an abortion became a crime punishable by up to life imprisonmentexcept to save the mother’s life.

Even before the ban went into effect, there were a number of restrictions on abortion in the state.

The abortion debate has polarized the US for decades. (GETTY IMAGES)

In 2021, Texas passed a law making most abortions illegal after six weeks of pregnancy.. It gave citizens the right to sue anyone who “knowingly engages in conduct that aids or abets the performance or induction of an abortion.”

The plaintiff is being represented by attorneys Briscoe Cain, who is a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives, and Jonathan Mitchell, a former attorney general who helped draft one of the state’s abortion bans.

The defendants did not respond to a request for comment.

Last week, five women sued the state of Texas for limited access to abortion when they had health risks that threatened their lives. The lawsuit alleges that doctors refuse to perform the procedure even in extreme cases for fear of prosecution.

A Texas judge is also expected to rule soon on another lawsuit, to approve or ban the abortion pill mifepristone. If the judge overturns the FDA’s approval for mifepristone, it could affect the availability of the drug across the country.

Source: Elcomercio