A Texas man is suing three women who he claims assisted his ex-wife in terminating her pregnancy under the state’s wrongful death statute, the first such case brought since the state’s near-total ban on abortion last summer.
Marcus Silva is represented by Jonathan Mitchell, the former solicitor general of Texas and architect of the state’s prohibition on abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, and state Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park. The lawsuit is filed in state court in Galveston County, where Silva lives.
Silva alleges that his now ex-wife learned she was pregnant in July 2022, the month after the overturn of Roe v. Wade, and conspired with two friends to illegally obtain abortion-inducing medication and terminate the pregnancy.
Perfect example of how anti-choice laws enable abusive spouses. If you live in a state with similar laws, do NOT have these conversations over insecure apps or text messages. Communicate face-to-face privately as much as possible, use secure apps with end-to-end encryption when you can't, and consider using burner phones if necessary.
if you are in a conversation with a pro-life acquaintance or family member, here's a great example of how anti-abortion laws can help trap people in potentially abusive situations
I think this is also a good time to remind people about Jury Nullification. That is when a jury returns a not guilty verdict regardless of whether they think the defendant broke the law or not. It is a form of protest that is typically used when the jurors think the law is unjust or the punishment for the crime is too harsh.
It's not commonly used, but it is perfectly legal due to the fact that a jury cannot be held responsible for an incorrect verdict and a defendant who is acquitted cannot be tried for the same crime twice. Just because it's a crime doesn't mean the person on trial did anything wrong.