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Pro-choice protesters march down Congress Avenue outside the Texas State Capitol in Austin on May 29, 2021. (Photo: Sergio Flores/Getty Images)
Here Come the Abortion Bounty Hunters
In this unequal economy, Texas’s harsh new anti-abortion law pits desperate people against each other.
Oct 31, 2021
Texas's cruel new anti-abortion law is more than just an unconstitutional restriction on reproductive choice. It's also an egregious new frontier in late capitalism.
In addition to banning abortion beyond six weeks into pregnancy, the Texas law allows private citizens to sue anyone who helps a person abort a pregnancy, promising $10,000 payments for the bounty hunters.
Someone who decides to dedicate themselves to abortion bounty hunting could make a comfortable living. Just seven bounties would earn you more than last year's median household income.
Those seven bounties wouldn't have to come from seven abortions -- they could come from just one. Because the category of those who could be said to "aid or abet" the termination of a pregnancy is so expansive, the number of individuals an abortion bounty hunter could sue is theoretically boundless.
As plaintiffs, abortion bounty hunters could sue anyone the pregnant person even remotely relied on -- including anyone who furnished them with information about abortion services, family members who provided emotional support, and the specialist who performed the abortion.
The primary purpose of the Texas law is to instill fear in those who receive and administer abortions. But what drives that fear is the fact that our unequal economy is already so terrifying. Ten thousand dollars is a lot to lose when only 39 percent of Americans have enough savings to weather a $1,000 emergency.
Conversely, as the gap between the rich and the poor widens, $10,000 is a lot to pocket.
While American billionaires have increased their wealth during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic by nearly $2 trillion, 8 million more Americans were pushed into poverty last year. Social spending has cushioned that impact, but the lapse of expanded unemployment benefits will force many more Americans to make difficult choices.
Even as the pandemic continues to demonstrate the essential contributions of some of the lowest-paid workers in the country, the federal minimum wage remains stubbornly set at $7.25 per hour. Holes in the social safety net left many Americans without food, health care, and housing well before the pandemic.
Even now, after the pandemic proved the precariousness of Americans' financial health, no federal legislation has been introduced to implement universal health care coverage or guarantee a universal basic income.
Scenes of Americans lined up by the thousands, waiting for free food in one of the richest countries in the world, should have been a lightning rod for change. Instead, they seem to have convinced some hardliners that Americans are just not interested in hard work.
The depravity of the Texas abortion law lies in its ability to pit desperation against desperation. Financial vulnerability egged on by unfettered capitalism has forced Americans to literally sell their blood plasma. No one should be surprised that it might also force them to sell their morals.
Abortion bounty hunters will inevitably seek to collect their bounties. When they do, don't just blame the lawmakers who wrote this ugly law -- blame the unequal economy that forces so many impossible choices. When capitalism is enlisted in efforts to limit women's reproductive freedom, everyone loses.
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. If you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
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Ebony Slaughter-Johnson
Ebony Slaughter-Johnson is an associate fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies who covers history, race, and the criminalization of poverty.
Texas's cruel new anti-abortion law is more than just an unconstitutional restriction on reproductive choice. It's also an egregious new frontier in late capitalism.
In addition to banning abortion beyond six weeks into pregnancy, the Texas law allows private citizens to sue anyone who helps a person abort a pregnancy, promising $10,000 payments for the bounty hunters.
Someone who decides to dedicate themselves to abortion bounty hunting could make a comfortable living. Just seven bounties would earn you more than last year's median household income.
Those seven bounties wouldn't have to come from seven abortions -- they could come from just one. Because the category of those who could be said to "aid or abet" the termination of a pregnancy is so expansive, the number of individuals an abortion bounty hunter could sue is theoretically boundless.
As plaintiffs, abortion bounty hunters could sue anyone the pregnant person even remotely relied on -- including anyone who furnished them with information about abortion services, family members who provided emotional support, and the specialist who performed the abortion.
The primary purpose of the Texas law is to instill fear in those who receive and administer abortions. But what drives that fear is the fact that our unequal economy is already so terrifying. Ten thousand dollars is a lot to lose when only 39 percent of Americans have enough savings to weather a $1,000 emergency.
Conversely, as the gap between the rich and the poor widens, $10,000 is a lot to pocket.
While American billionaires have increased their wealth during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic by nearly $2 trillion, 8 million more Americans were pushed into poverty last year. Social spending has cushioned that impact, but the lapse of expanded unemployment benefits will force many more Americans to make difficult choices.
Even as the pandemic continues to demonstrate the essential contributions of some of the lowest-paid workers in the country, the federal minimum wage remains stubbornly set at $7.25 per hour. Holes in the social safety net left many Americans without food, health care, and housing well before the pandemic.
Even now, after the pandemic proved the precariousness of Americans' financial health, no federal legislation has been introduced to implement universal health care coverage or guarantee a universal basic income.
Scenes of Americans lined up by the thousands, waiting for free food in one of the richest countries in the world, should have been a lightning rod for change. Instead, they seem to have convinced some hardliners that Americans are just not interested in hard work.
The depravity of the Texas abortion law lies in its ability to pit desperation against desperation. Financial vulnerability egged on by unfettered capitalism has forced Americans to literally sell their blood plasma. No one should be surprised that it might also force them to sell their morals.
Abortion bounty hunters will inevitably seek to collect their bounties. When they do, don't just blame the lawmakers who wrote this ugly law -- blame the unequal economy that forces so many impossible choices. When capitalism is enlisted in efforts to limit women's reproductive freedom, everyone loses.
Ebony Slaughter-Johnson
Ebony Slaughter-Johnson is an associate fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies who covers history, race, and the criminalization of poverty.
Texas's cruel new anti-abortion law is more than just an unconstitutional restriction on reproductive choice. It's also an egregious new frontier in late capitalism.
In addition to banning abortion beyond six weeks into pregnancy, the Texas law allows private citizens to sue anyone who helps a person abort a pregnancy, promising $10,000 payments for the bounty hunters.
Someone who decides to dedicate themselves to abortion bounty hunting could make a comfortable living. Just seven bounties would earn you more than last year's median household income.
Those seven bounties wouldn't have to come from seven abortions -- they could come from just one. Because the category of those who could be said to "aid or abet" the termination of a pregnancy is so expansive, the number of individuals an abortion bounty hunter could sue is theoretically boundless.
As plaintiffs, abortion bounty hunters could sue anyone the pregnant person even remotely relied on -- including anyone who furnished them with information about abortion services, family members who provided emotional support, and the specialist who performed the abortion.
The primary purpose of the Texas law is to instill fear in those who receive and administer abortions. But what drives that fear is the fact that our unequal economy is already so terrifying. Ten thousand dollars is a lot to lose when only 39 percent of Americans have enough savings to weather a $1,000 emergency.
Conversely, as the gap between the rich and the poor widens, $10,000 is a lot to pocket.
While American billionaires have increased their wealth during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic by nearly $2 trillion, 8 million more Americans were pushed into poverty last year. Social spending has cushioned that impact, but the lapse of expanded unemployment benefits will force many more Americans to make difficult choices.
Even as the pandemic continues to demonstrate the essential contributions of some of the lowest-paid workers in the country, the federal minimum wage remains stubbornly set at $7.25 per hour. Holes in the social safety net left many Americans without food, health care, and housing well before the pandemic.
Even now, after the pandemic proved the precariousness of Americans' financial health, no federal legislation has been introduced to implement universal health care coverage or guarantee a universal basic income.
Scenes of Americans lined up by the thousands, waiting for free food in one of the richest countries in the world, should have been a lightning rod for change. Instead, they seem to have convinced some hardliners that Americans are just not interested in hard work.
The depravity of the Texas abortion law lies in its ability to pit desperation against desperation. Financial vulnerability egged on by unfettered capitalism has forced Americans to literally sell their blood plasma. No one should be surprised that it might also force them to sell their morals.
Abortion bounty hunters will inevitably seek to collect their bounties. When they do, don't just blame the lawmakers who wrote this ugly law -- blame the unequal economy that forces so many impossible choices. When capitalism is enlisted in efforts to limit women's reproductive freedom, everyone loses.
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