In newly emerging legal cases within the pro-life movement, men across Texas are filing wrongful-death lawsuits on behalf of unborn children after their partners obtained abortions, marking a significant escalation in efforts to hold abortion providers accountable. These lawsuits, spearheaded by pro-life attorneys, aim to challenge mail-order abortion pill providers.
One notable case involves Jerry Rodriguez, who sued California-based Dr. Remy Coeytaux, alleging that she mailed abortion pills used by his girlfriend in two pregnancies. Rodriguez argues the medication contributed to the deaths of his unborn children, seeking both damages exceeding $75,000 and a nationwide injunction to bar further mail-order distribution.
This novel use of the wrongful-death law draws from both state statutes and the seldom enforced federal Comstock Act, which prohibits mailing materials used for abortions. The choice of legal tools reflects a broader strategy: to circumvent state “shield laws” that protect providers in from legal action when mailing abortion medication across state lines.
Pro-life groups have welcomed the tactics as a legitimate way to represent fathers’ voices in defending unborn life.
These lawsuits affirm that fathers have a right to stand up for their children, even before birth. Current law often gives men no recourse when faced with the loss of their unborn child. These cases help restore a measure of justice and accountability.
Beyond individual cases, pro-life momentum continues to grow. A parallel lawsuit by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton similarly targets a New York doctor supplying abortion pills to a Texas women, challenging shield law immunity and pushing the boundaries of legal enforcement across jurisdictions.
As litigation unfolds, the implications are substantial. If these suits gain traction, they may significantly expand legal accountability for providers, threaten the interstate distribution of abortion medication, and reshape the national conversation on paternal standing and legal personhood.
For SPUC and allied pro-life organisations, this emerging legal front represents more than courtroom strategy, it’s a clarion call for the protection of all life, including fathers’ rights and the defenseless unborn.
