A Texas man has accused three women of murder and has sued them for allegedly helping his ex-wife obtain abortion pills. This, as per Bloomberg, is the first of its kind case under Texas’ wrongful-death law. This is the first such case since the United States overturned Roe v. Wade. Washington Post says that the lawsuit could signal a new phase in the anti-abortion strategy. The case comes just days after a South Carolina woman was criminally charged for allegedly taking abortion pills to end her pregnancy.
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Marcus Silva, the man behind the case, is represented by the former Texas solicitor general Jonathan Mitchell, architect of the Texas law that allows residents to sue anyone they suspect of “aiding and abetting” an abortion.
Silva alleges that his ex-wife came to know about the pregnancy in July 2022, two months after filing for divorce, in May 2022. The divorce was finalised in February 2023.
As per photos of ex-wife’s purported text messages which Silva submitted as evidence, she told the defendants: “I know either way he will use it against me. If I told him before, which I’m not, he would use it as [a way to] try to stay with me. And after the fact, I know he will try to act like he has some right to the decision.”
The man alleges that his ex-wife’s two friends illegally obtained abortion pills to terminate the pregnancy, while another woman delivered the pills. He is demanding damages amounting to $1 million and a prohibition blocking the three women from distributing abortion pills.
Currently, in Texas, abortion is illegal except in cases of certain medical emergencies. Those performing an abortion or helping someone seek an abortion risk up to life in prison, along with a civil penalty of no less than $100,000.
(With inputs from agencies)
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