Legal experts say it’s not yet clear how the high court will act on the long-standing protections for abortion that it plans to reconsider later this year.
Unlike six-week abortion bans passed in more than a dozen states that have all been blocked by courts, Texas’ law has so far survived judicial challenges because it made the public the enforcer instead of state. People who successfully bring suits will win $10,000 in damages, and litigation can be brought against people other than the patient, such as a friend who lends money to pay for an abortion or provides a ride to a clinic.
The patient getting the abortion cannot be sued. Neither can individuals who refer a patient to an abortion provider in another state, or help the patient make the journey. But the lawyers representing the clinics say it still will have a chilling effect on physicians who'll be more reluctant to do the procedure and patients fearful to seek one even prior to six weeks of pregnancy.
“The way the Texas Legislature structured this law was to entice as many lawsuits as possible and make it essentially risk-free,” he said. While the justices could still freeze the Texas law to allow legal challenges to play out, abortion opponents seem emboldened. A federal judge blocked that statute and a 5th Circuit Court of Appeals panel upheld the injunction. But in 2001,that the suit used to mount the challenge was unconstitutional because the named defendants — Louisiana’s governor and attorney general — weren't involved in enforcing the law and had immunity under the 11th Amendment.
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