Article Review: Senate Bill 8

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As of September 1, 2021, a new act of the Texas Legislature popularly known as Senate Bill 8 (aka. Texas Heartbeat Act) had commenced. This new law has effectively crippled the abortion industry in Texas by expanding the standing needed for someone to bring a lawsuit. According to the Texas Tribune, “Under the law, anyone can sue anyone who performs, aids or intends to aid in an abortion — regardless of whether they have a personal stake in the abortion performed.” Some legal experts argue that the new law perverts and exploits civil courts by cutting into “the very nature of what a civil court is supposed to do: provide a remedy to a harmed party.” Erin Douglas, Texas abortion law a “radical expansion” of who can sue whom, and an about-face for Republicans on civil lawsuits, 2021, https://www.texastribune.org/2021/09/03/texas-republican-abortion-civil-lawsuits/ (last visited November 5, 2021). Other legal experts, like John Seago, believe that this new law is an effective way at avoiding federal questions of people’s perceived constitutional right to an abortion, which is apparently being defending by “activist judges”. Id.

The main issue that this article seeks to understand revolves around the concept of “cause to action”. This concept can be defined as the legal basis for a lawsuit depending on the facts and applicable law. Peggy Kerley, Joanne Banker Hames & Paul Sukys, Civil Litigation 3-1 (8th ed. 2020). Furthermore, it is necessary “that [a] party must have some injury or damage caused in such a way that the law recognizes the right to sue. In other words, a legal right to recover damages must exist.” Therefore, the question arises: Is the cause of action, or standing, according to legal professional David Coale “something that courts consider only to figure out who is allowed to sue under any given law or . . . something that is so central to the nature of what a court is that it constrains the Legislature.”? Erin Douglas, supra. Either way, it is now the responsibility of state courts – no longer the Federal courts – to determine whether a person has standing to sue someone practicing abortion in Texas.


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