Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a pro-life bill into law Sept. 17 that cracks down on the distribution of mail-order abortion drugs by allowing private citizens to sue companies that ship the pills into Texas.
HB 7, called The Woman and Child Protection Act, takes effect Dec. 4, 2025, according to the Texas Tribune. The legislation advanced through the state House last month and won Senate approval Sept. 3.
The law allows lawsuits against anyone who prescribes, manufactures, or facilitates the delivery of abortion drugs into Texas. Women who take the pills are shielded from liability, but violators face fines up to $100,000 per offense. To protect women’s privacy, the law also requires their identities be kept confidential in public court documents.
CatholicVote’s Director of Government Affairs Tom McClusky praised the law but urged Congress to follow Texas’ lead.
“Governor Abbot and the Texas legislature deserve high praise for this law to protect women and babies. Unfortunately, without federal action, ne'er-do-wells in other states will continue to send these killing drugs to Texas,” McClusky said. “It is past time Congress do what Texas just did and protect all women and children from those who would prey on them.”
Texas law currently bans abortion except when the mother’s life or a major bodily function is at risk. Still, abortion advocates have continued to ship mifepristone and misoprostol into the state using out-of-state telehealth providers and mail-order services, CatholicVote reported.
Texas Right to Life estimates that at least 19,000 abortion pill orders are illegally shipped into the state each year despite the ban.
Recent cases illustrate the danger. On Aug. 11, a Texas woman sued the father of her child for wrongful death, alleging he secretly slipped abortion drugs into her drink, which killed their unborn baby. She also sued Aid Access, the company that provided him with the drugs.
In July, a Texas man filed a lawsuit against a California doctor who allegedly mailed abortion pills to his girlfriend, leading to the death of his two unborn children.