A man in Texas is suing three of his ex-wife’s friends for allegedly helping her obtain medication for an abortion.
According to ABC News, Marcus Silva filed a wrongful death and conspiracy lawsuit on March 9 seeking more than $1 million in damages from each of the women. He argued that the women helping his then-wife to procure abortion medication is equivalent to aiding murder under Texas law.
As the person who underwent the abortion, Silva’s ex-wife is exempt from liability in the case.
Silva and his wife divorced in February. He alleged in the lawsuit that his wife discovered she was pregnant last July, one month after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, and tried to hide both the pregnancy and abortion from him.
The lawsuit included text messages between the women discussing various ways of obtaining abortion pills and self-managing an abortion at home after they determined she was only five or six weeks along in the pregnancy.
“You can do it at home,” one woman told Silva’s ex-wife. “We can take the day off and do it at my place if you want.”
The women also shared information about abortion services in Texas and discussed the possibility of travelling out of state for the procedure.
Silva’s ex-wife expressed gratitude to her friends, writing in a text message, “your help means the world to me,” adding that she felt “so lucky to have y’all.”
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Mifepristone to terminate a pregnancy up to 10 weeks. However, Texas passed a law in December banning medical professional from prescribing it to patients, according to NBC News.
Under current Texas law, abortions are banned after six weeks of pregnancy except for “medical emergencies,” which is not clearly defined.
