As the political battle over abortion continues, both sides have started using private cause-of-action laws in attempts to tip the balance.

Unlike typical laws that rely on government enforcement, private cause-of-action laws don’t have a government penalty attached to them. Instead, the measures allow lawbreakers to be sued by private citizens.

View Comments (4)

In theory, private cause-of-action laws shouldn’t count as state infringements on rights, even when they penalize actions that are unconstitutional for states to prosecute. That’s because such laws are enforced by the citizens themselves.

Thus far, that method seems to allow both pro-life and pro-abortion legislators to make laws that previously would have been struck down by the Supreme Court.

In Texas, a recent law has banned abortion after the detection of a heartbeat.

The Texas bill effectively dodges the Supreme Court by having citizens restrict abortion with lawsuits…

Because of [Mark] Dickson’s work, [leader of Right to Life East Texas] 34 towns in Texas have completely outlawed abortion using laws similar to the statewide Texas law. Most places that passed these ordinances have less than 3,000 people…In total, 350,449 Texans now live in towns that have outlawed abortion.

So far, the private cause of action seems to work. The Supreme Court has denied an appeal by groups that support abortion…

Katie Glenn, the government affairs counsel of Americans United for Life, says the court doesn’t yet have legal grounds to overturn the Texas law…

“You have to demonstrate that you’ve suffered harm to file a lawsuit and they haven’t demonstrated that,” she said. “So the court is going to let the law go into effect.”…

However, laws that dodge constitutional precedent can be double-edged swords.

In California, legislators recently voted on a bill that could use a private enforcement mechanism against pro-life protesters…

The bill’s text bans photographing abortion clinic patients, providers, and assistants for online display…[T]he person photographed can sue them or bring an action seeking injunctive relief.

According to Susan Arnall, the director of outreach and engagement at the Right to Life League, the bill effectively bans photography in public anywhere near an abortion clinic…

“The First Amendment protects speech in public places,” she said…The public sidewalk in front of Planned Parenthood is a public space.”

But because California’s law depends on private enforcement by lawsuit, it’s possible that the Supreme Court’s previous rulings on similar cases won’t apply, said Arnall.

“The analogy is the same,” said Arnall. “Just like Texas is attempting to curtail abortion rights using a private cause of action, so too is California attempting to curtail First Amendment rights.”…

What do you think about this twist and the way that pro-abortion advocates are utilizing a similar strategy? Share in the comments, and add a prayer for protection of the preborn.

(Excerpt from The Epoch Times. Article by Jackson Elliott. Photo Credit: Michael A. McCoy/Getty Images).