Overview

• The Senate approved HB7 by a 17–8 vote after earlier House passage, sending the bill to Gov. Greg Abbott, who is expected to sign it.
• The bill authorizes private lawsuits against manufacturers, prescribers, transporters and mailers who send abortion pills into Texas.
• Successful plaintiffs could obtain up to $100,000, with the full amount limited to the patient, the person who impregnated them or certain close relatives, while unrelated plaintiffs are capped at $10,000.
• Pregnant patients are not liable, the bill allows use for miscarriage care, and it excludes eligibility for perpetrators such as sexual assailants; it also includes privacy protections for patients.
• If signed, the law would take effect in December, extend Texas’s S.B. 8-style private enforcement, and is widely expected to face immediate challenges from providers and shield-law states.