Texas woman sues pro-life group under state’s abortion pill law for over $459K
October 20, 2026
A Texas woman is suing a national pro-life advocacy group, claiming their leader and several members violated a state law the organization championed by ordering abortion drugs as part of an undercover operation.
The Christian Post reports that he lawsuit, filed Tuesday against Students for Life of America (SFLA) President Kristan Hawkins and several other members of the group, identifies the 26-year-old plaintiff by the pseudonym Maria Puerto.
Puerto and her lawyers with the litigation arm of the pro-choice activist group Abortion in America, argue in the suit that Hawkins and her team “openly and flagrantly violated” House Bill 7, formerly titled the Woman and Child Protection Act.
A spokesperson for the legal team representing Puerto told the Christian Post, “The complaint filed Tuesday alleges that several members of Students for Life, which lobbied for HB 7, publicly posted that they were ordering abortion pills to Texas in violation of this law.”
The spokesperson continued, “By the plain language of the law, that means anyone can sue for this violation, including our client. Our client is a Texas mother of two who was forced to become a parent before she was ready because of the state’s abortion ban. She is now a struggling single parent raising two young children and caring for her ailing mother. If anyone were to benefit financially from laws like HB 7, it should be our client.”
According to the lawsuit, Puerto is seeking $459,782 from the defendants and SFLA under HB 7, alleging that amount is the cost of raising two children from birth to age 18 in Texas.
Puerto told The New York Times that if she wins, she plans to direct any remaining proceeds to Jane’s Due Process, an organization that tries to help minors in Texas obtain abortions or birth control pills.
HB 7 was signed into law Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Sept. 17, 2025. It took effect Dec. 4, 2025.
The law bans manufacturing or providing abortion-inducing drugs in or into Texas, and it allows private citizens to sue anyone who violates those prohibitions.
Photo: top, Credit: AFP via Getty Images/Drew Angerer