Crossing state lines to terminate a pregnancy remains legal in all 50 states and U.S. territories. But abortion opponents have another trick up their sleeve to scare patients: crafting baseless legal actions against them.
The latest example comes out of Texas. In a case first reported by the Washington Post, a man named Collin Davis claims that, in late February, his ex told him she was heading to Colorado to obtain an abortion. The next day, Davis retained the services of Jonathan Mitchell, a high-powered anti-abortion lawyer who helped create Texas’s infamous bounty-hunter law, better known as SB8, and currently represents former president Donald Trump. The attorney sent a letter to the woman requesting that she preserve all her records and warning that if she terminated her pregnancy, Davis would file legal action and “pursue wrongful-death claims against anyone involved in the killing of his unborn child,” according to a petition he filed in March, which the Cut reviewed. The legal action was submitted using a little-known Texas rule allowing for someone to be deposed even before a party files a lawsuit against them. In his petition, Davis is asking a court to force the woman to share any information related to the alleged abortion and who helped her obtain it.
Abortion is illegal in Texas, except in cases of narrowly defined medical emergencies that are rarely granted. However, state law explicitly exempts abortion seekers from prosecution and civil liability. Davis’s petition therefore has no legal basis under SB8 or the state’s wrongful-death statute, says Marc Hearron, senior counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights, which is assisting the woman’s attorneys.
“The idea that someone could have a claim under either wrongful death or SB8 for going out of state and getting an abortion is ridiculous,” he says. “There is nothing illegal under Texas law or any other state’s law about going and seeking an abortion in a state where it is legal. There is nothing unlawful under Texas law about helping someone obtain an abortion in a state where it’s legal.”
The woman’s identity remains unknown. A judge sealed the original petition, which included her personal information, at the request of her lawyers. Davis’s petition asks for the identity of anyone who allegedly helped her obtain the abortion, including any source of financial support, communications with abortion providers, and evidence of the alleged termination. “She’s concerned for her own privacy and safety,” says Hearron. The entire ordeal has been extremely difficult on the unnamed woman and her family. “She is still recovering from what was an unhealthy and toxic relationship,” he says. “Now she’s part of a national story. It’s unsettling.”
In addition to Davis, Mitchell also represented Marcus Silva, a man in Texas who last year sued three women who allegedly helped his ex-wife terminate a pregnancy with abortion pills. A countersuit maintains that Silva was an “emotional serial abuser” who knew of the abortion beforehand and did nothing to stop it so he could use it against his ex. (Experts have previously warned that abortion bans could be used by domestic abusers to punish and control their victims: In the 12 months following Dobbs, the National Domestic Violence Hotline reported a 99 percent increase in the number of callers who said their intimate partners engaged in reproductive coercion, either forcing them to remain pregnant or obtain an abortion.) Hearron says these legal actions brought forward by Mitchell are meant to confuse and scare abortion seekers.
He added that Mitchell has used similar baseless tactics to harass organizations that support patients, such as Texas’s abortion funds. “They are trying to do what we’ve said they wanted to: not just ban abortion but trap people within states where the procedure is banned and try to force them into giving birth.”
In a statement to the Cut, Mitchell said that people like his client “can sue for wrongful death” in connection to abortions.
The legal action comes as the anti-abortion movement intensifies its efforts to restrict abortion seekers’ movements. This legislative session alone, several states — including Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Oklahoma — have passed or are currently considering criminalizing people who help minors travel out of state for an abortion. Abortion opponents are also considering other forms of surveillance: In an interview with Time last month, Trump said he’d be fine with state legislation designed to track people’s pregnancies in order to prosecute those who obtain an abortion.
In regards to Davis’s petition, the woman’s attorneys are filing a response and are expected to appear before a judge, who will rule on whether to grant his request, Hearron says. They hope the court will agree there’s no legal basis for Davis’s petition. He adds, “I don’t know what else this could be besides a fear tactic.”
The Cut offers an online tool you can use to search by Zip Code for professional providers, including clinics, hospitals, and independent OB/GYNs, as well as for abortion funds, transportation options, and information for remote resources like receiving the abortion pill by mail. For legal guidance, contact Repro Legal Helpline at 844-868-2812 or the Abortion Defense Network.
