Introduction

This September, Texas passed House Bill 7 (HB7), a law designed to cut off Texans’ access to medication abortion.   

Texas already has several extreme abortion bans on the books. This law is another attempt to sow fear and confusion, and to go after abortion providers nationwide.  

Medication abortion prescribed via telemedicine is a lifeline for Texans in need of abortion care. Since the overturn of Roe v. Wade, the use of medication abortion has grown across the country—as of 2023, medication abortion made up more than 60 percent of abortions nationwide and a majority of abortions in states with bans.

HB7 attempts to cut this lifeline at the source, threatening doctors and manufacturers over the provision of abortion pills to people in the state. This isn’t an isolated attack. Across the country, anti-abortion extremists are waging a war against medication abortion on multiple fronts—and HB7 could become a blueprint for lawmakers in other states.

This dangerous law goes into effect on December 4. Here’s what you should know about it.

Intimidation campaign

1. HB7 is an intimidation campaign against doctors and abortion pill manufacturers.

HB7 is about fearmongering. It allows anyone to file a lawsuit for at least $100,000 against someone who manufactures, distributes, mails, or provides medication abortion in or to Texas. Texas lawmakers are using this law to threaten abortion pill providers—to scare them out of helping people access essential care.

This law applies to providers everywhere. With it, anti-abortion lawmakers are reaching beyond the borders of Texas and attempting to control doctors and drug manufacturers in other states.

Incentive to spy

2. It incentivizes Texans to spy on each other.

HB7 is a bounty hunter law, meaning it rewards private citizens for spying and reporting on each other. It encourages a culture of surveillance, where the things people do in their own homes are fair game for public oversight.

Texas has tried something like this before. Senate Bill 8 (SB8), the state’s 2021 law banning abortion after six weeks, allowed Texans to sue anyone providing or helping someone access an abortion for $10,000. But the flood of lawsuits that Texas lawmakers were hoping for never came—Texans overwhelmingly chose to respect each other’s privacy.

Battle between states

3. Laws like HB7 are setting up a battle between states.

HB7 is not the first time anti-abortion states have tried to impose laws on providers beyond their borders. With states like Texas targeting out-of-state providers and trying to keep them from offering care, states where abortion is legal are enacting shield laws to protect providers and their patients.

Shield laws are legal protections that safeguard abortion providers and patients who are acting legally in their own state from being punished under another state’s laws. Today, eighteen states have shield laws in place—and eight have laws that specifically protect providers who offer medication abortion via telehealth, regardless of where the patient is located.

In an early test that these laws are working, a New York judge recently dismissed an attempt by Texas to impose a $100,000 fine on a New York doctor. With the passage of HB7, more of these interstate legal battles may follow.

War on medication abortion

4. This is part of a larger war on medication abortion.

It’s not just in Texas: anti-abortion extremists are going after medication abortion across the country.

This includes the Food and Drug Administration’s recently announced review of the abortion pill mifepristone, which extensive research has shown to be safe. The decision to review the drug seems to have been driven by anti-abortion Senator Josh Hawley and based on a widely debunked self-published paper by an anti-abortion group. The Center is currently suing the Trump Administration over records that would reveal political interference in that decision.

Anti-abortion extremists are also looking to weaponize a set of long-dormant anti-vice laws from 1873 against medication abortion. Known collectively as the Comstock Act, these laws prohibit the mailing of anything used to provide unlawful abortion care. The Act has never been applied to lawful health care—but newly appointed anti-abortion extremists are working behind the scenes in the Justice Department to change that.

Contact us

Contact us

There is every reason to believe that doctors and drug manufacturers who provide medication abortion won’t be deterred by laws like HB7. As they face growing threats from anti-abortion extremists, the Center is committed to protecting providers and the people who need their care.

If you have questions about HB 7, or are the target of a lawsuit or investigation under HB 7, and want to speak to a lawyer at the Center, please reach out to [email protected].