After the U.S., Uber drivers in Texas will soon find themselves the subject of expensive lawsuits Supreme Court On Wednesday refused to approve a ban on restrictive new abortion laws.
According to the analysis Senate Bill (SB) 8. Those who drive women to abortion clinics for illegal abortions may be prosecuted for $10,000.
(SB) 8 Effectively prohibit all abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
law Does not include criminal penalties for illegal abortions But it authorizes individuals to enforce these regulations by prosecuting doctors and anyone who “helps or abets” the “criminal abortion”.
People who successfully prosecute under the new law will receive at least US$10,000 in statutory damages for each illegal abortion.
A potential target of litigation may be someone who takes women to an abortion clinic.
NBC News Judicial Correspondent Julia Ainsley proposed Uber When the driver is in court Microsoft National Broadcasting Corporation on Wednesday.
“It even means you can sue Uber drivers who drive people to abortion clinics,” Ainsley said.
“These laws are stricter than the laws we make for people who bring people who are about to commit terrorist acts to the place where they actually did it. This is a very strict law.”
New York University (NYU) law professor Melissa Murray made the same point in the comments New York Times.
“If the barista is Starbucks I overheard you talking about your abortion, it was performed six weeks later, the barista Clinics authorized to sue you for abortion And sue anyone else who helped you, such as the Uber driver who took you there,” Murray said.
According to the law, the prosecutor does not need to live in Texas or have any relationship with the aborted woman. The woman cannot be prosecuted herself, but anyone who helps her can be prosecuted.
SB8 Effective at midnight on Tuesday after no response from the Supreme Court Seek emergency application for suspension of the law. On Wednesday, the court voted 5 to 4 to not approve the suspension of enforcement on the grounds that Texas employees were unable to enforce SB8.
In an unsigned opinion issued before midnight on Thursday, most people stated that the plaintiff’s application “raised complicated and novel pre-procedure issues” and that they did not fulfill their responsibilities.
Chief Justice John Roberts stated that he was willing to suspend the law. The three liberal justices of the court also disagreed. Deputy Justice Sonia Sotomayor called the majority’s decision “shocking.”
Weekly newspaper Uber has been asked to comment.
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