'Absurd and inflammatory': TX activists condemn 'outrageous' wrongful death lawsuit over abortion medication

A Texas man has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against three women for allegedly assisting his now-ex-wife with acquiring abortion medication, and activists are calling the move "outrageous," The Associated Press (AP) reports.

Per AP, Marcus Silva of Galveston County "alleges assisting in a self-administered abortion is tantamount to aiding a murder," and is pursuing a $1 million settlement.

In favor of Silva's legal action, Texas GOP Rep. Briscoe Cain, said, "Anyone involved in distributing or manufacturing abortion pills will be sued into oblivion."

READ MORE: Women denied abortions sue Texas to affirm exceptions to the laws

The Texas Tribune reports:

Joanna Grossman, a law professor at SMU Dedman School of Law, said this lawsuit is 'absurd and inflammatory.' Since the pregnant patient is protected from prosecution, there is no underlying cause of action to bring a wrongful death suit in a self-managed abortion, she said.

"But this is going to cause such fear and chilling that it doesn’t matter whether [Mitchell] is right," Grossman said. "Who is going to want to help a friend find an abortion if there is some chance that their text messages are going to end up in the news?

She continued, "And maybe they're going to get sued, and maybe they’re going to get arrested, and it’s going to get dropped eventually, but in the meantime, they will have been terrified."

AP reports:

Lawsuits challenging abortion restrictions have arisen across the U.S. as clinics have shuttered in Republican-dominated states. Earlier this week in Texas — which has one of the strictest bans in the country, outlawing the procedure in nearly every case with the exception of medical emergencies — five women who said they were denied abortions even when pregnancy endangered their lives sued the state.

READ MORE: GOP senator vows to 'make abortion unthinkable'

"This is an outrageous attempt to scare people from getting abortion care and intimidate those who support their friends, family, and community in their time of need," Autumn Katz, a Center for Reproductive Rights lawyer, said. "The extremists behind this lawsuit are twisting the law and judicial system to threaten and harass people seeking essential care and those who help them."

READ MORE: Federal judge says there may still be a constitutional right to abortion: report

Associated Press' full report is available at this link. Texas Tribune's full report is here.