A federal judge just dismissed a lawsuit filed by Wendy Davis, an abortion activist and former Texas state senator, attempting to overturn the Texas heartbeat law.
The pro-life law bans abortions once an unborn baby’s heartbeat is detectable, about six weeks of pregnancy, and allows private individuals to sue abortionists and others who aid and abet abortions in violation of the law. Pro-life leaders say thousands of unborn babies have been spared from abortions since the law went into effect in 2021.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman said Davis failed to show how the law imposed a “credible, imminent threat” on herself and other pro-abortion groups, the Texas Tribune reports.
“In short, Plaintiffs have not sufficiently distinguished these threats and the sworn statements disavowing them to show an injury,” Pitman wrote.
Davis’s lawsuit argued that the heartbeat law is “blatantly unconstitutional” and has been a “nightmare” because it prohibits abortion funds from “aiding and abetting” in abortions.
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She claimed the law violates her free speech and due process rights through her work with the Lilith Fund, a pro-abortion group in Austin that is named after a demon. The group provides financial assistance and other support to help women abort their unborn babies, which may be construed as “aiding and abetting” abortions. Under the law, private citizens may sue abortion groups for violations.
In the lawsuit, Davis and other abortion activists argued that the threat of lawsuits creates a “chilling effect” on groups like theirs, including their ability to freely associate with others who agree with them about abortion, according to the Tribune.
Initially, her lawsuit named pro-life state Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, and three other private citizens as defendants for threatening to sue abortion funds for giving money to help Texas women abort their unborn babies. However, Cain later was dropped from the suit, the Tribune reports.
Last year, Cain sent letters to the Lilith Fund and other Texas abortion groups telling them to “immediately stop paying for abortions performed in Texas or face criminal prosecution” under both the heartbeat law and an older state law that describes people who help women get abortions as accomplices.
Others involved in the pro-abortion lawsuit include Marva Sadler and Sean Mehl of the abortion chain Whole Woman’s Health, and the Stigma Relief Fund.
Nearly a decade ago, Davis came into the national spotlight because of her abortion advocacy. In 2013, pro-abortion news outlets and activist groups tried to make the Democrat politician into a star after she filibustered a pro-life bill in the Texas Senate while wearing pink tennis shoes.
Despite the positive media attention, Davis’s radical pro-abortion views never received much public support. Since then, she repeatedly has lost elections including for governor and U.S. Congress.
Now, Texas protects all unborn babies from abortion. Months after the heartbeat law went into effect, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and began allowing states to protect unborn babies from abortion again. As a result, another Texas law that bans all elective abortions went into effect. Pro-life leaders believe the law will save tens of thousands of unborn babies’ lives every year.
Texas pro-life advocates also have been expanding support services for pregnant and parenting families, including through new maternity homes and pregnancy resource centers. State lawmakers also increased support for programs that serve pregnant and parenting mothers and babies, ensuring that they have resources to choose life for their babies.
