Today, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) and Congressman Tom Malinowski (NJ-07) introduced the Stopping Abortion Bounties Act, a response to Texas Senate Bill 8, the Texas Heartbeat Act, that creates a private right of action allowing ‘‘any person’’ (other than a state or local government actor) to sue abortion providers and anyone who helps or intends to help a person obtain an abortion in violation of S.B. 8’s terms—effectively, after approximately six weeks of pregnancy—and incentivizes those claimants to sue by providing a bounty of at least $10,000 per defendant.  Lawmakers in other states are now using S.B. 8 as a blueprint for their own legislation.

If enacted, the Stopping Abortion Bounties Act would impose a 100% federal tax on any bounty award obtained under S.B. 8 or legislation like it, and direct the revenues raised from the tax to a fund within the Department of Treasury that would reimburse any organization or individual ordered to pay the bounty.

“S.B. 8 is an affront to all Texans.  This radical law is wholly incompatible with our civil justice system—creating new rules, applying them to S.B. 8 cases alone, making them all but impossible to defend—and it is a threat to the very foundations of our society with its bounty system,” said Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher.  “This law, already in effect in my home state of Texas, is transparent in its effort to isolate women by targeting their support networks and discouraging their loved ones from helping them for fear of being sued.  I am proud to work with Congressman Malinowski to reject this dangerous bounty system by introducing the Stopping Abortion Bounties Act today, which imposes a 100% federal tax on any bounty award obtained under S.B. 8 or legislation like it.”

“Make no mistake, the Texas abortion law is an outrageous attempt to nullify Roe v. Wade by creating a nation of bounty hunters deputized to sue anyone in America who helps a woman get an abortion,” said Representative Malinowski.  “This bill not only nullifies the bounties, but protects the support system for women confronting a deeply personal decision.”

Full text of the bill can be found here.