The Texas Legislature is expected to soon vote on final passage of a bill that would allow most citizens to file civil lawsuits against out-of-state providers who ship abortion pills to Texas.
Texas law forbids most abortions, with exceptions for when the mother’s life is at risk or if the pregnancy will result in “substantial impairment of a major bodily function.” Medical abortion is now the most common method.
What’s in the Bill?
The bill lets private citizens file a whistleblower lawsuit against individuals or companies such as Plan C, Aid Access, and Her Safe Harbor, when they ship abortion pills to Texas.Last month, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sent cease-and-desist letters to those three organizations, saying they are “likely in violation of both the federal Comstock Act and multiple provisions of Texas law, including the Human Life Protection Act.”
The 1873 Comstock Act prohibits mailing “obscene” materials, including any “substance, drug, medicine, or thing which is advertised or described in a manner calculated to lead another to use or apply it for producing abortion.”
The Human Life Protection Act bans abortion in Texas, with exceptions when the mother’s life is in danger or her bodily functions will be substantially harmed by carrying the unborn child to term.
HB7 contains exceptions for state-run medical facilities, internet search engines, and others, and for situations when the intent is to preserve the mother’s health. Violators could face a penalty of $100,000.
Potential Legal Challenges
Neama Rahmani, cofounder and president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, told The Epoch Times that even if the law passes, it may not stand.He pointed out that the Comstock Act, which also prohibits mailing pornographic material, is almost never enforced.
“The flip side is states can’t take action that substantially impairs interstate commerce,” he said. “So the folks who are challenging HB7 would argue that this violates the Dormant Commerce Clause because it infringes or impairs interstate commerce. That’s going to be one challenge.”
He also questioned whether private citizens looking to file suit would have jurisdiction over out-of-state providers of abortion pills.
Rahmani noted another problem. The Texas bill may run afoul of the Supremacy Clause of Article VI of the Constitution, which says that federal law takes precedence over state law.
Texas Takes Challenge to Other States
In December 2024, Texas filed a lawsuit against New York physician Dr. Margaret Carpenter for providing abortion pills to one of its residents by mail. When Carpenter did not respond to the suit, Texas won by default.Taylor Bruck, the acting county clerk for Ulster County, New York, refused to enforce the $100,000 fine against Carpenter, saying it violated New York’s “shield laws,” which protect doctors who provide abortion pills to patients in other states.
Paxton has since filed a legal petition against the clerk.
Bruck is standing his ground.
“As the Acting Ulster County Clerk, I hold my responsibilities and the oath I have taken in the highest regard,” Bruck said in a statement. “In accordance with the New York State Shield Law, I have refused this filing and will refuse any similar filings that may come to our office.”
The Epoch Times was unable to reach Carpenter for comment.
Several states are also seeking in a Texas district court to curtail telehealth prescriptions of mifepristone, following a study showing that 11 percent of women experienced “sepsis, infection, hemorrhaging, or other ‘serious adverse event’” after taking it.
