"S.B. 8 dramatically changed abortion access in Texas even before the fall of Roe because providers, fearing massive liability, refused any request for an abortion that came after the sixth week of pregnancy. The hope is that H.B. 7 will stop the flow of abortion pills into Texas. Targeting manufacturers could even make it harder for Americans to get abortion pills anywhere in the United States."
"S.B. 8 was both a tremendous success and a source of disappointment. Very few lawsuits were brought under the law. Part of that is because providers generally turned away patients who were more than six weeks pregnant. But those who did bring suit hardly painted the picture that abortion foes wanted. Instead, the plaintiffs sometimes came across as a rogue's gallery of weirdos, abusers, and fortune seekers."
H.B. 7 permits any private citizen to sue anyone who mails, prescribes, distributes, manufactures, or provides abortion medication in Texas for at least $100,000, including defendants based in states that protect abortion rights. S.B. 8 previously allowed private suits against providers after six weeks with at least $10,000 damages and prompted many providers to refuse abortions beyond six weeks. H.B. 7 seeks to stop the flow of abortion pills into Texas and to deter manufacturers, potentially affecting nationwide access. H.B. 7 faces legal uncertainty because federal judges will decide conflicts between state laws. S.B. 8 generated few suits and produced unflattering plaintiffs, creating public relations problems.
Read at Slate Magazine
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]