(The Center Square) – Another lawsuit is before the Texas Supreme Court related to the constitutionality of the Texas Heartbeat Act and the Texas Citizens Participation Act.
This is after multiple lawsuits filed to stop the Heartbeat Act failed and the Texas Supreme Court and Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued rulings enabling the law to remain in effect, affirming its constitutionality.
SB 8, filed by state Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, passed with bipartisan support and Gov. Greg Abbott signed it into law in May 2021. Multiple groups sued and by October 2021, a federal judge halted it. By April 2022, the Fifth Circuit overturned his ruling, ending all challenges to the law. After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in June 2022, Texas’ law went into full effect in August 2022.
The law bans abortions from being performed in Texas as soon as a heartbeat of the preborn baby is detected, with limited exceptions. It created a second-degree felony offense for a person who knowingly performs, induces, or attempts an abortion. The offense is enhanced to a first-degree felony if an unborn child dies from an abortion. Anyone who violates the law performing an abortion can also be subject to a minimum civil penalty of $100,000 for each violation, with exceptions. It also allows for civil action against those facilitating abortions in Texas.
The Texas Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on Jan. 14 in a case filed by a private citizen alleging an abortion-supporting organization violated the law and retaliated against her.
In January 2022, Sadie Weldon, a Jack County resident, filed a Rule 202 petition with the 271st District Court, seeking to depose the Lilith Fund and its deputy director, Neesha Davé. Weldon alleges Davé “stated in a sworn declaration that her organization knowingly and intentionally aided or abetted at least one post-heartbeat abortion in violation of the Texas Heartbeat Act.”
The Lilith Fund claims it provides “financial assistance and emotional support while building community spaces for people who need abortions in Texas.”
America First Legal also filed petitions in 2022 against the Lilith Fund for Reproductive Equity and the Texas Equal Access Fund over allegations they paid for abortions in violation of the Texas Heartbeat Act.
In March 2022, the Lilith Fund countersued Weldon, seeking a declaration from the court that the Heartbeat Act is unconstitutional and an injunction prohibiting Weldon from deposing Davé and from suing it.
Weldon then filed a motion to dismiss the countersuit, claiming it was retaliatory and violated her rights protected by the Texas Citizens Participation Act. The law protects Texans’ First Amendment rights.
In August 2022, Judge Brock Smith denied Weldon’s petition, preventing her from deposing Davé. In October 2022, Smith also denied her motion to dismiss the Lilith Fund’s lawsuit. Weldon appealed the ruling to the Second Court of Appeals in Fort Worth, which also ruled against her, arguing the TCPA doesn’t apply in her case.
She next appealed to the Texas Supreme Court, arguing the TCPA applies because she was sued in response to filing a petition that she argues is constitutionally protected.
Last November, the Texas Supreme Court agreed to hear her case. At issue before the court is whether the Lilith Fund’s countersuit may be dismissed under the TCPA. The Lilith Fund is still seeking a declaratory judgement on the constitutionality of the Heartbeat Act.
Depending on how the court rules, the case could be remanded back to the appellate or trial court.
