Abortion Clinics Face Punishment After Violating Texas Heartbeat Act

Attorneys from the Thomas More Society have filed pre-suit petitions for discovery against two abortion funds that have admitted to violating the Texas Heartbeat Act. Directors of the Lilith Fund for Reproductive Equity and the Texas Equal Access Fund have admitted in court that their organizations paid for at least one abortion of an unborn child in Texas who had a detectable heartbeat.

Earlier this month, Thomas More Society attorneys submitted petitions to take depositions from Neesha Davé, the deputy director of the Lilith Fund for Reproductive Equity, and Kamyon Conner, the executive director of the Texas Equal Access Fund. These depositions will uncover the individuals subject to civil liability and criminal prosecution for aiding or abetting these illegal abortions, which will include each fund’s employees, volunteers and donors whose gifts are targeted or used for these illegal purposes.

The Texas Heartbeat Act imposes civil liability on any person who aids or abets an abortion performed after fetal heartbeat is detected, and anyone found to have assisted a post-heartbeat abortion must pay at least $10,000 in statutory damages plus costs and attorneys’ fees. It is also a criminal offense in Texas to “furnish the means for procuring an abortion knowing the purpose intended,” unless the mother’s life is in danger, and anyone convicted of paying for another’s abortion faces two to five years imprisonment for each abortion that they funded or otherwise helped to take place.

“It is illegal to pay for an abortion performed in Texas or to contribute to abortion funds to aid or abet these abortions,” explained Tom Brejcha, president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Society. “The Lilith Fund and the Texas Equal Access Fund have admitted to paying for abortions in violation of the Texas Heartbeat Act, and in doing so they have exposed their employees, volunteers and donors to civil lawsuits and potential criminal prosecution. Those donations were used not for First Amendment advocacy but to end the lives of innocent unborn human beings with beating hearts. Those who are funding or assisting in bringing about these abortions will be revealed in discovery. Anyone who has aided or abetted an illegal abortion in Texas is subject to the full force of the law and imposition of these civil and criminal sanctions.”

Read the Verified Petition to Take Deposition to Investigate a Lawsuit filed in the District Court, Jack County, Texas, 271st Judicial District, requesting to depose Neesha Dave of the Lilith Fund for Reproductive Equity here.

Read the Verified Petition to Take Deposition to Investigate a Lawsuit filed in the District Court, Denton County, 431st Texas Judicial District, requesting to depose Kamyon Conner of the North Texas Equal Access Fund here. {eoa}

Thomas More Society is a national, not-for-profit law firm dedicated to restoring respect in law for life, family, religious liberty and election integrity. Headquartered in Chicago and with offices across the country, the Thomas More Society fosters support for these causes by providing high-quality pro bono legal services from local trial courts all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court. For more information, visit thomasmoresociety.org.

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