Antiabortion groups plan new crackdowns, emboldened after election

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Antiabortion groups plan new crackdowns, emboldened after election

Distressed by rising use of abortion pills, activists devise aggressive new action now that Republicans will be in charge.


Antiabortion demonstrators rally outside of the Supreme Court ahead of opinion announcements in Washington. (Allison Robbert/The Washington Post)

By Caroline Kitchener
November 20, 2024 at 2:10 p.m. EST

Antiabortion advocates are moving aggressively in the wake of the election to devise new measures to punish people and organizations that help women get abortions, feeling emboldened to crack down on the flow of abortion pills into states with bans and no longer burdened by fear of political backlash.

A leading national antiabortion organization is seeking a meeting with Matt Gaetz, Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department, to discuss prosecuting abortion pill providers under a long-dormant law from the 19th century. ... A Texas lawmaker introduced a bill one week after the election that would allow private citizens to sue internet providers for hosting abortion pill websites, part of a broader legislative push to target online clinics. ... And the largest antiabortion group in Texas is planning a new wave of legal action in early 2025, looking for men interested in suing people who helped their female partners get abortions.

“You will see lawsuits filed now that were strategically not filed before the election,” said John Seago, the president of Texas Right to Life, who has spent much of the past year sounding the alarm on the thousands of abortion pills flowing into Texas by mail. “We have donors who fund that stuff who said, ‘Let’s wait until after November.’”

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By Caroline Kitchener
Caroline Kitchener is a reporter covering abortion at The Washington Post. She won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting. follow on X @CAKitchener