HOUSTON – A religious group in Texas is looking for men who are looking to sue anyone, including doctors, who helped women get abortions in Texas.
The group, Texas Right to Life, is a Christian organization and is the largest pro-life organization in the State of Texas.
John Seago, president of Texas Right to Life, says the civil lawsuits are the best way to ensure the state’s abortion law is enforced and creates a “pro-life state.”
“What we’re seeing right now is just an avalanche of illegal activity in Texas,” Seago said. “In a pro-life state where abortion is illegal, the businesses and organizations that promote it, abortion, have not stopped. They are promoting illegal abortions. They are promoting trafficking abortion pills into our state. And they’re promoting travel outside of the state for abortion.”
Men who lost a child due to an abortion are being asked to file civil wrongful death lawsuits against anyone, including doctors, who helped the mother carry out the abortion.
While Texas Right To Life would not release any specifics about how many men have come forward, they did say they have not filed any lawsuits yet.
“We’re not willing to kind of disclose our our strategy yet as far as exactly who or how many cases we have, but for Texas Right To Life, our point is the pro-life movement needs to start swinging at these dangerous practices,” Seago said. “We’re expecting that you’ll see a couple of these big kind of attempts on several different legal strategies, but you’ll see those in the new year.”
This lines up with President-Elect Donald Trump taking back the White House after a rash of conservatives took seats in both the House and the Senate in the November election.
It’s something that is helping spur the movement, according to Seago.
However, there is opposition, including that from the Texas ACLU as well as the Center for Reproductive Rights.
Statement from Marc Hearron, Senior Counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights:
“The anti-abortion movement is more emboldened than ever and is finally saying the quiet part out loud—they will go after everyone to end abortion access. Doctors, pregnant people, family members, anyone. We knew this was coming. Just last year, anti-abortion extremists found a vengeful, abusive ex-husband to file a lawsuit harassing and threatening his ex-wife and the people around her. They are trying to scare Texans from getting the health care they need, seeking to pit neighbor against neighbor. What is pro-family about this?”
Statement from Sarah Corning, attorney at the ACLU of Texas:
“Texas Right to Life’s latest strategy to stop all abortions in Texas encourages men to turn against their girlfriends, partners, and wives by suing people who help them access abortion care. Make no mistake, such lawsuits will lead to control and harassment in relationships. The way for men to get evidence of a medication abortion is to spy on their partners and invasive lawsuits act as a punishment for their partners’ reproductive choices.
“Ordering medication abortion into Texas and taking it yourself is legal. Providing your friend with information about medication abortion and options to leave the state is legal. Helping your neighbor leave the state for an abortion is legal. The U.S. Constitution protects the right to free speech and the right to travel, no matter what anti-abortion groups say.
“Texas Right to Life may be dissatisfied with that reality, but the response cannot be to deputize men to surveil pregnant people and sue their neighbors. Texans want fewer abortion restrictions, not more lawsuits.”
