Texas bill allowing citizens to sue over abortion pills advances

Bill allows citizens to sue over abortion pill

A bill that's moving forward in the Texas Legislature would allow people to sue others who ship abortion pills into the state of Texas.

DALLAS - State lawmakers are trying to put an end to abortion pills entering the state.

The Senate passed a bill allowing private citizens to sue corporations or people who mail abortion medication to women in Texas.

Texas Abortion Pill Ban

What we know:

Abortion medication is already illegal in Texas. But Republican lawmakers want to take the ban a step further to prevent pills from being sent to women from different states.

House Bill 7 specifically targets manufacturers, distributors, and anyone else who provides abortion medication to women in Texas by threatening civil lawsuits and fines.

Those who successfully sue could be awarded $100,000 in damages.

Dig deeper:

Doctors who prescribe the medication are protected if the pills are given for "legitimate medical reasons."

Women taking the abortion pills also cannot be sued under the new legislation, including when the pills are taken after a miscarriage.

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New Texas laws now in effect: List

More than 830 bills passed by the Texas Legislature went into effect on Monday. The laws include changes to Texas schools, abortion policies and medical marijuana.

What they're saying:

Sen. Bryan Hugues, the Republican sponsor of the bill, said women taking the pills may not have had information about the medication’s effects, and Big Pharma is taking advantage of the loopholes in the existing state law to mail pills to women.

"The bill says if you are going to manufacture or ship these illegal, poisonous pills to Texas for the purpose of killing little unborn babies and hurting moms, you will be held accountable," he said.

The other side:

Democrats countered, saying now women won’t be able to make that decision for themselves.

"Legally you’ve done a good job of keeping the mom out of legal harm, in terms of a lawsuit, but the fact that you have made it impossible for her to get out of this relationship where she’ll be entrapped in a relationship with someone who is potentially abusive or coercive to her for at least 18 years if she carries that child to term," said State Sen. Jose Menedez, a Democrat from San Antonio.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas claims HB 7 extends Texas’ abortion ban far beyond state borders and encourages neighbors to police one another.

What's next:

The bill needs one final vote in the Senate before it goes to the governor’s desk.