Abortion providers file lawsuit to block Texas ‘heartbeat’ legislation

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – A group of abortion providers filed a federal lawsuit against Texas on Tuesday, in an effort to block a new ‘heartbeat’ law that allows private citizens to sue anyone who helps a woman get an abortion, UPI reports.

Scheduled to take effect in September, the new Texas law prohibits abortion at or after six weeks gestation, before many women know they are pregnant.

The group of plaintiffs in the case include the Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Whole Woman’s Health, American Civil Liberties Union, and several abortion providers in Texas, UPI said. According to the lawsuit, the new Texas law will violate people’s right to privacy and equal protection, among other things.

Unlike other states’ anti-abortion laws, the new Texas legislation will be enforced through private citizens’ lawsuits against abortion providers and anyone that offers care or help to a woman seeking an abortion.

Anyone can sue, even if they live out of state and have no connection to the woman in question. The plaintiff can seek up to $10,000 per defendant. Critics have said the law will open the floodgates to lawsuits against everyone from doctors to friends who drive a woman to an abortion clinic.

“The state has put a bounty on the head of any person or entity who so much as gives a patient money for an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, before most people know they are pregnant, Nancy Northup, president, and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights said in a statement. “Worse, it will intimidate loved ones from providing support for fear of being sued,” she added.

“We will pursue every legal avenue we can to block this and other pernicious laws,” Northup asserted.

John Seago, legislative director at Texas Right to Life, said the lawsuit was “a desperate legal move,” according to the New York Times.

“There is no reason to believe that this state judge is violating any federal laws or violating the Constitution by simply having jurisdiction over a lawsuit that the State of Texas has authorized,” he said. “Don’t miss the point of this bill: The point of the bill is that abortions are stopped after six weeks.”

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