Abortion providers, and even manufacturers, will be liable for penalties over pills mailed into the state

Residents of Texas can now sue people who they suspect of making, distributing or mailing abortion pills in or out of the state, in a first-of-its-kind law that aims to dam the flood of abortion pills into states that ban the procedure.

Under the new law, which went into effect on Thursday, abortion providers could face penalties of at least $100,000 if they mail pills into Texas. Manufacturers of abortion pills are also eligible to be sued, although women who take abortion pills are not.

Anti-abortion activists are hoping that the law will escalate the war between states that protect abortion rights and those that do not, since it marks the first legislative challenge to “shield laws”. Enacted in a handful of blue states after the fall of Roe v Wade, shield laws aim to protect abortion providers from out-of-state prosecution, even if they are shipping pills across state borders. By the end of 2024, abortion providers in shield-law states like Massachusetts and New York were facilitating more than 12,000 abortions a month in states that ban the procedure, including in Texas, according to #WeCount, a research project by the Society of Family Planning.