A Texas man has filed a lawsuit against three women, accusing them of aiding his ex-wife in obtaining abortion pills, which allegedly led to the death of his unborn child. This lawsuit is one of the first significant legal challenges under a state abortion ban since the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
On Thursday, Plaintiff Marcus Silva filed the lawsuit in Galveston County, Texas, seeking damages of $1 million against each woman. He alleges that defendants Jackie Noyola, Amy Carpenter, and Aracely Garcia are liable for wrongful death because they helped his ex-wife, Brittni Silva, obtain abortion pills to terminate a pregnancy in July 2022.
Texas has been one of about a dozen states that have enforced a total abortion ban since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, eliminating federal abortion rights. In Texas, it is illegal to “aid or abet” abortions, which the lawsuit claims the defendants did.
The lawsuit argues that “Defendants Noyola, Carpenter, and Garcia all knew that they were aiding or abetting a self-managed abortion, which is a wrongful and criminal act of murder under Texas law.”
The text messages apparently between Brittni Silva, Noyola, and Carpenter, which are attached as exhibits in the court documents, show the women discussing Silva’s pregnancy and her desire to get abortion pills in Texas. The screenshots show Noyola and Carpenter offering links to websites where people can order the two-pill regimen, and both offered to let Silva self-manage her abortion at their homes. The lawsuit alleges that Garcia facilitated the delivery of the pills to Houston.
Brittni Silva, who divorced her husband in February, is not a defendant in this lawsuit and is exempt from criminal or civil liability under state law.
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Marcus Silva is represented by lawyers Briscoe Cain, who is a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives, and Jonathan Mitchell, who is credited as an architect of the six-week ban in Texas that took effect in September 2021. That law banned abortion starting at six weeks of pregnancy and introduced a novel enforcement mechanism: it invited citizens to file civil lawsuits against anyone they believed violated the law by aiding, abetting, or providing an abortion to a woman past that point for damages exceeding $10,000.
Since the enactment of this law, Texas has seen a significant increase in lawsuits against individuals and organizations accused of violating the abortion ban. However, this is one of the first cases to be filed under the new law that seeks damages for wrongful death related to an abortion.
The defendants have not yet commented on the lawsuit. A status hearing in the case has been set for June 8.
In conclusion, the lawsuit filed by Marcus Silva against three women in Texas marks a significant legal challenge under the state’s abortion ban since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The case seeks damages related to an abortion. It is one of the first to do so under the new law that invites citizens to file civil lawsuits against anyone they believe violated the abortion ban. This case highlights the ongoing debate over abortion rights in the United States and the impact of restrictive state laws on women’s reproductive healthcare. The outcome of this case could have far-reaching implications for abortion rights in Texas and beyond.