Man settles suit against ex's friends accused of helping her get abortion pills in Texas

Kate Linderman, The Charlotte Observer on Oct 11, 2024

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A Texas man’s first-of-its kind lawsuit against three women who he alleged helped his ex-wife obtain pills to induce an abortion in 2022 has been settled, according to court documents.

A notice to dismiss the lawsuit was filed on Oct. 10 by Jonathan Mitchell, a notable anti-abortion attorney, on behalf of the plaintiff Marcus Silvia. There was no explanation as to why the case was dropped.

Documentation later filed on Oct. 11 said the parties had come to an agreement. The terms of the settlement were not included in the document.

The lawsuit filed in March 2023, less than a year after the Supreme Court’s landmark decision overturning Roe v. Wade, accused Jackie Noyola and Amy Carpenter of helping Silvia’s then-wife get pills to abort his unborn child, according to court documents. The Galveston man sought $1 million from the women.

The original complaint referred to the abortion and process of obtaining abortion pills as “murderous actions” and accused the women of wrongful death.

Ahead of their Feb. 2023 divorce, Silvia’s wife got pregnant in July 2022 and hid it from her husband, the lawsuit said. The two have two daughters.

The woman told her friends she was pregnant, and the three acquired abortion pills, an illegal act in Texas, to terminate the pregnancy, the lawsuit alleged.

Text messages between the women showed them discussing plans to get the woman abortion pills in Houston, according to the lawsuit.

Noyola met Aracely Garcia, the third woman sued in the case, as the three made plans to follow through with the abortion without the husband’s knowledge, according to text messages included in the lawsuit.

The mother of two took the pills and terminated her pregnancy, the lawsuit said.

Shortly after the Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme Court decision, Texas enacted sweeping laws banning most abortions, with exceptions to save the life or health of the pregnant person, according to the Texas Law Library.

It is now a criminal offense to perform an abortion, according to Texas law.

Texas law also allows parents to sue people for wrongful death of a fetus, according to the lawsuit.

Trial for the case set to begin Oct. 14 was canceled, according to court records.

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