New legal strategy tests men’s role in abortion disputes
As abortion restrictions shift across the country, a new legal strategy in Texas is putting the spotlight on the Y chromosome. Men, including husbands, boyfriends and ex-partners, are filing lawsuits over abortions obtained by their partners, aiming to challenge both the patients and the providers who assist them.
State’s near-total ban sets the stage
Abortion is illegal in Texas, with very limited exceptions such as when the procedure is necessary to save the mother’s life.
Rachael Gearing, a health care partner at the Texas law firm Wick Phillips, represents hospitals, physician groups and a range of health care providers, including OB-GYN and fertility doctors.
“Abortions are not happening in the state of Texas, meaning providers in the state of Texas are not providing abortions,” she said.
But abortions are still happening in Texas through channels like telehealth, allowing patients to access medication from providers in other states. That has become the focus of recent lawsuits.
Gearing said the lawsuits reflect a broader push to give men more influence over reproductive decisions.
“There’s a move to give men more control over the reproductive process, which is what you see in these cases,” she said. “Where a male is suing about the termination of a fetus with which that person believes they were the parent, or were related — biologically related.”
Shield laws protect out-of-state doctors
Gearing explained that these cases target out-of-state providers who ship or approve abortion medications to patients in states like Texas with strict abortion bans.
“Providers in other states that are shipping and approving these medications to be sent to states like Texas and other states that have these extreme abortion bans are doing so only in states that have what we call shield laws,” Gearing said. “Shield laws are laws in place in states like New York to explicitly protect providers, regardless of where the patient lives, and prohibit states from pursuing their claims against those providers.”
Anti-abortion groups see these lawsuits as a way to poke holes in “shield laws.” Texas Right to Life has been especially active in that push. The group has leaned on its network of crisis pregnancy centers, church circles and conservative allies to track down potential plaintiffs.
Gearing said the goal of the lawsuits is largely to intimidate providers, making it harder and more expensive to offer services to patients in restricted states. That includes the threat of legal action, increased liability insurance costs and reputational risk.
Private citizens as enforcers under SB 8
Senate Bill 8, passed and became law in Texas in 2021, lets private individuals sue anyone who performs or helps someone obtain an abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy. The law created a new legal pathway that has enabled these kinds of lawsuits to emerge, giving private citizens a direct role in enforcing the state’s abortion restrictions.
According to the Wall Street Journal, a man in Houston, Jerry Rodriguez, recently filed two lawsuits claiming his girlfriend’s estranged husband and her mother forced her to take abortion pills prescribed by a California-based doctor. Rodriguez said his girlfriend had wanted to continue both pregnancies, but her ex arranged the pills through an online provider that ships to states with abortion bans.
Rodriguez is now seeking to sue on behalf of “current and future fathers of unborn children,” asking a judge to stop the doctor from mailing abortion medications and seeking at least $1 million from the girlfriend’s family.
Texas Attorney General targets New York doctor
In December of 2024, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against a New York doctor for sending abortion medication to Texas. Dr. Margaret Daley Carpenter, founder of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine, is accused of providing abortion pills to a Collin County resident, ending a pregnancy and causing serious medical complications.
Texas law prohibits doctors from mailing abortion-inducing drugs or treating Texas patients via telehealth without a valid state license. Paxton said Carpenter knowingly violated these rules and is seeking a court order to stop her, along with civil penalties of at least $100,000 per violation.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul pushed back against the lawsuit, calling the state’s actions “baseless.” She said Paxton is targeting a New York doctor for prescribing legal abortion medication. She noted that Acting Ulster County Clerk Taylor Bruck has twice rejected the Lone Star state’s attempt to file a judgment, citing New York’s shield laws.
“New York won’t be bullied. I’ll never back down from this fight,” Hochul said.
New legislation aims to block abortion pills by mail
On Thursday, the Texas House of Representatives passed HB 7, the Woman and Child Protection Act, aimed at stopping the mailing of abortion pills. State Rep. Jeff Leach, a Republican, said the legislation protects women’s health and prevents what he described as the reckless distribution of abortion-inducing drugs.
Leach added on X, “Though they may be unborn, they are alive — and they are worthy of our focus and our protection. They have fingers and toes. They have noses, ears, eyes and eyelids. They have unique personalities. They have brain waves. They have heartbeats. And they have rights.”
The bill now moves to the Texas Senate for consideration. The ACLU of Texas criticized the measure, saying it “will fuel fear among manufacturers and providers nationwide, while encouraging neighbors to police one another’s reproductive lives, further isolating pregnant Texans, and punishing the people who care for them.”
Doctors warn of rising risks and maternal mortality
Gearing said these lawsuits come with concerns from OB-GYNS and other reproductive health providers.
“People are trying at-home remedies, and I’ve treated patients who had failed or missed abortions because they were trying to do something that was not safe,” she said.
She added that maternal mortality has increased disproportionately in states with abortion bans, including a 56% rise in Texas since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade compared with 11% nationwide.
Studies show more than 70% of Texas OB-GYNs said the near-total abortion ban has negatively affected their profession, and one in five have considered leaving the state, according to data reviewed by Gearing.
Residency program applications have dropped, and nearly half of Texas counties are considered maternal care deserts. Gearing said this is a growing concern for ensuring adequate care for the Texas population.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
