On Sept. 17, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 7 (full text), a complex 20-page law aimed at preventing the shipment from out-of-state of abortion-inducing drugs. The key section of the law provides:
... [A] person may not: (1) manufacture or distribute an abortion-inducing drug in this state; or (2) mail, transport, deliver, prescribe, or provide an abortion-inducing drug in any manner to or from any person or location in this state....
The law then sets out lengthy lists of exceptions, including any action taken by a pregnant woman in attempting to induce an abortion.
The ban is enforceable through a qui tam action by any person, with certain exceptions. To deal with plaintiff's standing, the Act provides:
An action brought under this section must be brought in the name of the qui tam relator, who is an assignee of this state’s claim for relief. Notwithstanding any other law, the transfer of this state’s claim to the qui tam relator is absolute, with the state retaining no interest in the subject matter of the claim.
An action may not be brought against a pharmaceutical manufacturer, distributor or common carrier unless it is shown that the defendant failed to adopt and implement a policy to comply with the law.
If a plaintiff is successful, the court is to award not less than $100,000. If the plaintiff is the woman who was pregnant or a relative of the unborn child, plaintiff is to retain the entire award. If the suit is brought by someone else, plaintiff is to retain $10,000 and the remainder is to be placed in trust for a charitable organization selected by plaintiff.
Reuters reports on the governor's action.
