More than 20 Texas abortion providers filed suit against state officials Tuesday in response to a recently passed law with one of the nation's most restrictive abortion limitations.
"Known as the 'heartbeat bill,' Senate Bill 8 was heavily criticized because it limits abortion to two weeks after a missed menstrual cycle, a time when some women don’t yet know they’re pregnant," Heidi Perez-Moreno reports for The Texas Tribune. "It aims to ban abortion after a fetal heartbeat has been detected, which is considered a misnomer as a fetus doesn’t possess a heart at six weeks’ gestation."
The law, set to take effect Sept. 1, has a novel enforcement provision intended to make the law harder to block in court: any private citizen can sue abortion providers or anyone else they believe isn't complying with state abortion laws. "Citizens who file such suits would not need to have a connection to an abortion provider or a person seeking an abortion or even reside in Texas. Those who win lawsuits would be awarded a minimum of $10,000 in damages, as well as attorney’s fees," Perez-Moreno reports.
Opponents of the law say it could stress an already overburdened court system and leave abortion clinics and women vulnerable to intimidation and harassment, Perez-Moreno reports. They also say it sets a dangerous precedent, since a person who files suit is typically required to have sustained harm as the basis of the suit.
Anti-abortion organization Right to Life East Texas, which helped author the bill, was named in the suit, Perez-Moreno reports. The group is also behind ordinances in several small towns that declared them as "sanctuary cities for the unborn." Anti-abortion organizations in other states have successfully pitched similar sanctuary city ordinances; it's unclear whether any are pursuing similar statewide laws such as the one in Texas.
from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/3kiw6b5 Texas officials sued over new citizen-enforced abortion law - Entrepreneur Generations
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