Suit Alleges Wrongful Death of Couple’s Unborn Child
By Anne Reed
A Texas man has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against three women after they allegedly helped his ex-wife secure chemical abortion drugs to kill his unborn child. This wrongful death suit is the first case of its kind since Roe v. Wade was overturned last June. Silva is seeking $1 million in damages.
The plaintiff in the case, Marcus Silva, is represented by Jonathan Mitchell, former Texas solicitor general and Rep. Briscoe Cain (R-TX) (pictured below), who previously served as Operation Rescue’s legal counsel. Both attorneys helped engineer Texas Senate Bill 8, otherwise known as the “Heartbeat Act,” signed into law last May – just before Roe’s overturn.
Operation Rescue and Rep. Cain have worked in partnership for many years developing strategies to save babies in Texas, the nation’s second most populous state.
“It is rewarding to see many of those strategies come to fruition,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. “Briscoe’s courageous actions are making a tremendous difference in Texas. And, in many ways, the Lone Star State has become a beacon of light for the rest of the nation.
“I’m proud to call Briscoe my friend and a dear colleague in our efforts to make abortion unthinkable. That’s why we presented him with the 2021 Pro-life Person of the Year Malachi Award following his work on the Texas Heartbeat Act. His determination to bring accountability to those who violate the law in Texas is paying off with this new lawsuit.”
Under the Texas Heartbeat Act, private citizens are permitted to file civil suits against abortionists or anyone who “knowingly engages in conduct that aids or abets the performance or inducement of an abortion.”
No criminal charges have been filed against any of the four women involved. And, the mother of the deceased child is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit with the other three women, as Texas law specifically stipulates that a mother who undergoes an abortion is not liable.
Though the couple’s divorce was final last month, the lawsuit states that Silva was the father of the child and that, once identified, he also plans to sue the manufacturer of the drugs that were used in the do-it-yourself, chemical abortion that ended the life of his child.
Roe v. Wade, the infamous case that set the stage for nationwide legalized abortion, was originally filed in 1970 in the state of Texas by Norma McCorvey’s attorneys. Ironically, Texas now has some of the strongest laws in place to protect innocent life in the womb.
The Texas trigger law, HB 1280, went into effect last August, taking protections for the unborn further than the previously enacted Heartbeat Act. Rather than restricting abortion from approximately six weeks gestation, HB1280 banned abortion in Texas from the moment of fertilization, with only one exception – to save the life of the mother.
Still standing are the provisions of the Heartbeat Act that allow civil lawsuits for aiding and abetting abortions. In addition, according to Cain and Attorney General Ken Paxton, pre-Roe statutes that prohibited and criminalized abortion (unless the mother’s life was in danger) were reenacted the day Roe was overturned. Therefore, the punitive measures of up to five years imprisonment for anyone who performs or “furnishes the means” for an abortion apply as well.
Silva’s lawsuit, filed in Galveston County, where he resides in Texas, alleges that his now ex-wife learned she was pregnant last July, two months after she filed for a divorce, and proceeded to conspire with two friends to illegally obtain abortion-inducing drugs.
According to text messages filed as part of the complaint, the women shared information about an international group that provides chemical abortion drugs through the mail. But, in the end, the texts indicated they were able to acquire the drugs locally.
The lawsuit alleges that a third woman delivered the medication, and the abortion was completed at home.
Among the screenshots from the group texts, Silva’s ex-wife expressed concern about telling her husband, claiming he “would try to act like he [had] some right to the decision.”
“It is about time that the rights of fathers are recognized by the courts,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. “Men have a God-given responsibility to protect their children and lead their families. We hope and pray for an outcome in this litigation that sets a precedent consistent with God’s plan for protecting life and family.”
