Three women were sued Thursday for wrongful death after they helped someone obtain an abortion, marking what is likely the first lawsuit brought under Texas’ abortion ban, according to Reuters.
Plaintiff Marcus Silva is seeking $1 million in damages from each of the three women who helped his ex-wife, Brittni Silva, obtain the abortion pills she used in July 2022, Reuters reported. Two of the women supplied links to websites where the pill could be found and offered to allow Brittni Silva to complete the abortion in their homes, text messages included in the lawsuit show. Another woman allegedly helped deliver the pills to Silva in Houston.
“Defendants Noyola, Carpenter, and Garcia all knew that they were aiding or abetting a self-managed abortion, which is a wrongful act and a criminal act of murder under Texas law,” the lawsuit says, according to Reuters. (RELATED: Texas Slapped With Lawsuit From Five Women Over Abortion Ban)
Mifepristone (Mifeprex) and Misoprostol, the two drugs used in a medication abortion, are seen at the Women’s Reproductive Clinic, which provides legal medication abortion services, in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, on June 17, 2022. Mifepristone is taken first to stop the pregnancy, followed by Misoprostol to induce bleeding. – In the wake of Friday’s ruling by the US Supreme Court striking down Roe v Wade and the federally protected right to an abortion, women from Texas and other states are traveling to clinics like the Women’s Reproductive Health Clinic in New Mexico for legal abortion services under the state’s more liberal laws. – RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)
Brittni Silva is not a defendant in the lawsuit because Texas law prevents pregnant women from being prosecuted.
Republican Texas House Rep. Briscoe Cain and former Solicitor General of Texas Jonathan Mitchell, who developed Texas’ Heartbeat Act banning abortion once cardiac activity is detected, are representing Marcus Silva in court.
“Anyone involved in distributing or manufacturing abortion pills will be sued into oblivion,” Cain said in a statement, according to Bloomberg.
Texas currently bans abortion at all stages of pregnancy under three laws: the Heartbeat Act that took effect Sept. 1, 2021; the “Trigger Ban,” HB 1280, which makes it a felony carrying fines of at least $100,000 to perform an abortion, and a ban from 1925 that was approved for enforcement after Roe v. Wade was overturned in June.
Briscoe Cain and Jonathan Mitchell did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.