Â鶹´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Texas women sued for wrongful death after aiding in abortion

Linda Banes, left, and Ethelene Marshall stand with anti-abortion demonstrators as they gathered to sing and pray outside Planned Parenthood in Houston, June, 24, 2022, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP, File) Linda Banes, left, and Ethelene Marshall stand with anti-abortion demonstrators as they gathered to sing and pray outside Planned Parenthood in Houston, June, 24, 2022, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP, File)
Share
AUSTIN, Texas -

Three women in Texas are being sued for wrongful death by a man who claims they helped his now-ex-wife obtain medication for an abortion. It's another test of state-enforced bans since the U.S. Supreme court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision.

In a lawsuit filed late Thursday in Galveston County, Marcus Silva alleges assisting in a self-administered abortion is tantamount to aiding a murder. Silva is seeking $1 million in damages.

The woman who took the medication in July -- weeks after the Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to abortion that had been in place since 1973 -- is not named in the lawsuit. Texas law protects women who get an abortion from being held liable.

Abortion rights groups condemned the lawsuit, calling it an intimidation tactic.

"This is an outrageous attempt to scare people from getting abortion care and intimidate those who support their friends, family, and community in their time of need," Autumn Katz, a lawyer with the Center for Reproductive Rights, said Friday in a statement. "The extremists behind this lawsuit are twisting the law and judicial system to threaten and harass people seeking essential care and those who help them."

Silva is being represented by Jonathan Mitchell -- a former Texas solicitor general who helped create one of the state's abortion bans -- attorneys from conservative legal group Thomas More Society and state Rep. Briscoe Cain, a Houston-area Republican.

"Anyone involved in distributing or manufacturing abortion pills will be sued into oblivion," Cain said in a statement from the attorneys.

According to the lawsuit, the manufacturer of the pills will also be named as a defendant once it is identified in the discovery process.

The lawsuit claims it has text messages from among the women discussing how to obtain medication that could induce an abortion and how to aid the woman who was pregnant in planning to take the medication.

Lawsuits challenging abortion restrictions have arisen across the U.S. as clinics have shuttered in Republican-dominated states. Earlier this week in Texas -- which has one of the strictest bans in the country, outlawing the procedure in nearly every case with the exception of medical emergencies -- five women who said they were denied abortions even when pregnancy endangered their lives sued the state.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a young woman in northeastern Ontario eight years ago. The former Hedley frontman had pleaded not guilty to sexual assault.

The two people who died in a major fire in Old Montreal on Friday were a mother and her seven-year-old daughter, sources told Noovo Info.

It’s 1998. Google was just born, and dial-up was the primary way to connect to the Internet. New sites were being developed daily on any number of topics, from recipes to shopping. David Yanciw, however, was thinking big - big things, that is.

Police have arrested a Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides and investigators say that they believe two of the victims may have been 'randomly targeted.'

The Ministry of Labour is investigating a workplace incident that claimed the lives of two people in Georgian Bluffs, south of Owen Sound.

Local Spotlight

Chantal Kreviazuk is set to return to Winnipeg to mark a major milestone in her illustrious musical career.

From the beaches of Cannes to the bustling streets of New York City, a new film by a trio of Manitoba directors has toured the international film festival circuit to much pomp and circumstance.

A husband and wife have been on the road trip of a lifetime and have decided to stop in Saskatchewan for the winter.

The grave of a previously unknown Canadian soldier has been identified as a man from Hayfield, Man. who fought in the First World War.

A group of classic car enthusiasts donated hundreds of blankets to nursing homes in Nova Scotia.

Moving into the second week of October, the eastern half of Canada can expect some brisker fall air to break down from the north

What does New Westminster's təməsew̓txʷ Aquatic and Community Centre have in common with a historic 68,000-seat stadium in Beijing, an NFL stadium and the aquatics venue for the Paris Olympics? They've all been named among the world's most beautiful sports venues for 2024.

The last living member of the legendary Vancouver Asahi baseball team, Kaye Kaminishi, died on Saturday, Sept. 28, surrounded by family. He was 102 years old.

New data from Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley shows a surge in supply and drop in demand in the region's historically hot real estate market.