Five Texas district attorneys announced on Friday they would not prosecute abortion-related crimes. But even if criminal charges are off the table in those jurisdictions, providers could still face civil and administrative consequences.
Texas lawmakers passed a law last year that would ban abortions, with narrow exceptions, if the Supreme Court overturned Roe. The law criminalizes the person who performs the abortion, not the person who undergoes the procedure.
But even if criminal charges are off the table in those jurisdictions, local policies “do not and cannot restore the access to reproductive freedom that has been lost,” said South Texas College of Law professor Charles “Rocky” Rhodes. “A lot of people were scared. There were a lot of people that were confused,” Austin Council Member Paige Ellis said. “There’s a lot of people that are looking to elected leaders to help and it’s on us to … make sure we can do something that benefits our constituents.”
The state’s trigger ban makes it a felony to perform an abortion except to save the life of the mother. But the law also requires the Texas attorney general to file a civil lawsuit against anyone who performs a prohibited abortion for “not less than $100,000 for each violation,” and revoke the license of any health care provider involved in the procedure.
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