In March, the group posted a photo of president Kristan Hawkins and other employees using their phones in front of Houston’s Space Center on Instagram stories. Text overlaying the photo read, “Guess what we are doing? Ordering abortion pills undercover? Yep. Stay tuned.” Not only did SFLA broadcast the stunt online, they conducted it in front of journalist Amy Littlefield, who documented it for Mother Jones. It’s unclear whether they actually obtained the pills.
The law, HB 7, bars legal action against people who obtain pills to end their own pregnancies. However, it allows any private citizen to sue someone for damages if the defendant distributes pills or simply “intends” to do so. Unlike in normal civil suits, the litigant doesn’t have to be personally harmed by the acts of the people they’re suing.
But the woman suing Hawkins and her colleagues was harmed by the state of Texas. Maria Puerto is a 26-year-old single mom who says the state’s abortion bans forced her to give birth not once, but twice. Puerto, who’s using a pseudonym, is suing for $459,782, the average cost to raise two children in Texas until age 18.
Why the hell should she win a lawsuit against someone who did her no harm?Edit: I misread some details. I still think the law allowing the lawsuits are bullshit, but it makes more sense for it to hit who it’s hitting.
Forced birthers do real harm to everyone every time they draw in a breath. We’d have a much better world of someone figured out how to actually sue them out of existence. Saying out loud “abortion is murder” should no more be protected speech than yelling “fire” in a crowded theater.
I misread some details, so that’s my bad. I edited my comment.
Because HB 7 allows that. Texas legislators thought it would only be used to punish people who were pro-abortion. They were wrong.
None of these anti-abortion groups have been punished to date.
Do you have kids? Have you given birth? I’d say she’s been harmed…
I misread a bit, so that’s on me. I’ve edited my comment