Austin, Texas — A Texas man is asking a court to authorize a murky legal move to find out who allegedly helped his ex-partner obtain an abortion out of state, setting the latest test of the reach of statewide abortion bans.
As some states work to expand access to abortion and others impose more limits following the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe V. Wade, anti-abortion activists have begun testing the limits of state-level bans in the courts. Abortion advocates call these legal actions a scare tactic and stress that crossing state lines to obtain an abortion remains legal.
Both sides agree that the Texas case could test the meaning of “leaving it to the states,” a phrase repeated by former President Donald Trump during the campaign.
The documents relating to this Texas petition were sealed by the court for the woman’s safety, but according to The Washington Post, which first reported the legal action, the man’s attorney is Jonathan Mitchell, a former Texas attorney general. and architect of Texas’ strict abortion. banishment. Representing the woman is the Center for Reproductive Rights and lawyers from Arnold and Porter.
His lawyers say the man made a “Rule 202” request — a request that usually precedes legal action when illegal activity is suspected. If approved, the court could allow the man to search for documents related to the alleged procedure and order the woman and others accused of helping her to give statements.
The Texas abortion ban provides for enforcement through a private civil action or under the state’s criminal statutes, which have been updated to prohibit nearly all abortions, punishable by life in prison for anyone found responsible for helping a woman obtain one. it.
This is the first legal action that says women cannot leave Texas to get an abortion elsewhere, said Marc Hearron, senior counsel at the center.
“Being involved in or helping someone get a legal abortion outside of Texas is legal,” Hearron said. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”
Mitchell did not immediately respond to multiple calls from The Associated Press seeking comment.
“The limit on the ability to travel is a step beyond what I think we’ve seen anywhere,” said Michelle Simpson Tuegel, an attorney specializing in women’s rights cases. “I pray that we do not live in a time when our higher courts will say that our home states can arrest us when we are pregnant.”
Since the U.S. Supreme Court ended the nation’s right to abortion two years ago, a looming question has been how states with bans can try to prevent their residents from getting abortions in states where they are legal.
At least 14 Democratic-controlled states have passed laws seeking to protect providers and others who help people get abortions in their states. Some also protect people who prescribe abortion pills via telemedicine to people in states with bans.
Idaho adopted a ban on what it calls “abortion trafficking” aimed at preventing minors from being transported out of state for an abortion without parental permission, but the enforcement was suspended by a federal judge. Tennessee lawmakers approved a similar measure last month, but Republican Gov. Bill Lee has not yet signed it.
After Alabama’s attorney general said his office would “look into” groups that help women get abortions, the U.S. Department of Justice, an abortion fund and former providers asked a court to block such investigations. On Monday, a federal judge said most of the lawsuit can proceed.
And four Texas counties have adopted local measures, enforceable through lawsuits brought by private citizens, against the use of specific roads to help people get an abortion.
Anti-abortion forces have begun turning to the courts to test how far these restrictions can be enforced and who can be held accountable.
In a separate case in Galveston, Mitchell is also representing a Texas man who is suing three friends of his ex-wife, accusing them of wrongful death and seeking $1 million in damages for helping her get the pills she needed. needed to self-induce an abortion. .
Abortion advocates say Mitchell’s lawsuits are scare tactics and emphasize that crossing state lines for abortion remains legal.
John Seago, president of the anti-abortion group Texas Right to Life, said these lawsuits will help clarify how laws will be enforced and who can be held responsible, as states will have to resolve abortion issues.
“At a minimum, we have to support each state to fully enforce its laws,” Seago said, arguing that other states cannot have the power to “sabotage” Texas laws.
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Associated Press writer Geoff Mulvihill contributed to this report.
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