The Texas State Senate has approved a controversial bill that would allow private citizens to file lawsuits against anyone who mails abortion pills into the state. This latest measure, part of the Republican-led government’s broader campaign to severely restrict abortion access, comes more than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which had guaranteed federal protections for abortion rights.
Known as House Bill 7, the legislation is designed to extend Texas’ abortion restrictions even beyond state borders. The bill had already passed the Texas House of Representatives before being endorsed by the Senate on Wednesday. It now awaits the signature of Republican Governor Greg Abbott, who is widely expected to sign it into law.
Senator Bryan Hughes, one of the bill’s leading supporters, framed the legislation as a moral and health issue rather than a political one. He accused the pharmaceutical industry of prioritizing profits over women’s well-being, describing abortion pills as “poisonous.” According to Hughes, the new law seeks to protect both unborn children and mothers who, in his view, have been misled or harmed.
The proposed law makes it illegal to manufacture, distribute, or provide abortion-inducing drugs within Texas. It also extends liability to individuals or organizations outside the state who mail or transport such medications to Texans. However, the bill does not criminalize women who take abortion pills themselves, including those who use them following miscarriages.
One of the most controversial aspects of the bill is the provision granting private citizens the right to sue alleged violators for a minimum of $100,000 in damages, even if the plaintiff has no personal connection to the case. Critics argue this measure encourages surveillance and harassment.
Democrats have strongly condemned the bill, accusing Republicans of turning “neighbors into informants” and stripping women of their rights. The Texas State Democratic Caucus labeled the legislation a tool of control rather than protection, warning that it incentivizes abuse and could fuel nationwide enforcement of Texas’ strict abortion laws.
Since the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling, Texas has imposed some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country, permitting the procedure only in very limited cases. The severity of these restrictions was highlighted earlier this year when a New York doctor was fined $100,000 by a Texas court for remotely prescribing abortion medication to a patient in the state. A month earlier, that same physician faced criminal charges in Louisiana for similar actions.
With Governor Abbott’s signature expected soon, Texas is set to once again position itself at the forefront of the national abortion debate, reinforcing its role as a testing ground for some of the most aggressive anti-abortion measures in the United States.