Texas GOP group warns that Sidley partners could be prosecuted if the firm pays abortion travel costs

The ABA reports

At least one BigLaw firm with offices in Texas has received a letter warning that its partners are breaking the law by facilitating abortions that are illegal in the state.

The letter was sent to Sidley Austin by the Texas Freedom Caucus, a group of Republican state lawmakers, report Bloomberg Law, Law.com and Reuters. The Texas Freedom Caucus posted the letter on Twitter.

The letter begins: “It has come to our attention that Sidley Austin has decided to reimburse the travel costs of employees who leave Texas to murder their unborn children.” To the extent Sidley is facilitating illegal abortions, “it is exposing itself and each of its partners to felony criminal prosecution and disbarment,” the letter says.

The letter cites a never-repealed law enacted before Roe v. Wade that bans abortion in the state, with exceptions to save the life of the mother. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is supporting enforcement of the law.

According to the letter, the pre-Roe law makes it a felony for any person to furnish “the means for procuring an abortion knowing the purpose intended.” The letter claims the criminal prohibition extends to ban medication abortions if any part of the drug regimen is taken in Texas.

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