Texas abortion ban turns citizens into "bounty hunters"

The Texas law that bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy includes an unusual measure designed to ensure the law is enforced: Residents of the state can sue clinics, doctors, nurses and even people who drive a woman to get the procedure, for at least $10,000. 

That financial incentive was singled out by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor in her dissent late Wednesday after the Supreme Court declined to block the controversial law. In effect, Texas lawmakers have "deputized the state's citizens as bounty hunters, offering them cash prizes for civilly prosecuting their neighbors' medical procedures," she wrote. Hotlines from anti-abortion groups have already sprung up. Texas Right to Life, an anti-abortion group in the state, created a website where people can leave information anonymously about "aiding or abetting a post-heartbeat abortion." The law authorizes citizens to sue, and seek financial damages from, the support networks who help women get an abortion — such as families, friends, counselors, pastors, health care providers and more — rather than the women who are undergoing the procedure, experts say.