Texas sued over law that lets citizens enforce ‘fetal heartbeat’ abortion ban

Abortion rights advocates filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday seeking to block a Texas law that would empower private citizens to enforce the state’s ban on virtually all abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected.

The 49-page complaint alleges that Texas’s new law, which is set to take effect Sept. 1, runs afoul of a woman’s constitutional right to a pre-viability abortion.

It also takes aim at a provision that authorizes citizens to sue those who perform or “aid” abortions after the roughly six-week ban— giving them at least $10,000 for each successful lawsuit.

“The state has put a bounty on the head of any person or entity who so much as gives a patient money for an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, before most people know they are pregnant,” Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) said in a statement. “Worse, it will intimidate loved ones from providing support for fear of being sued.”

Similar laws: The Texas law prohibits abortions after the presence of a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can occur as early as six weeks after a woman becomes pregnant, and only makes exceptions for medical emergencies.

Federal courts have blocked similar bills passed in other states, including North Dakota, Iowa, Kentucky and Mississippi.