The Texas man who sued three women who helped his ex-wife obtain an abortion dropped the lawsuit on Thursday after a settlement was reached. The friends have likewise dropped their lawsuit against him.
According to The Guardian, the parties did not provide an explanation as to why the lawsuits were dropped, but a notice of settlement was submitted to the court. The Washington Post reported that no money had been exchanged though he had asked for more than $1 million in damages.
In 2023, Marcus Silva filed a civil lawsuit against Jackie Noyola, Amy Carpenter, and Aracely Garcia. He accused Noyola and Carpenter of assisting his ex-wife Brittni Silva “in murdering Ms. Silva’s unborn child with illegally obtained abortion pills.” He said they also “instructed Ms. Silva to conceal their criminal and murderous actions from” him, the father of the child. He also alleged that Garcia supplied the pills that killed the preborn baby in July of 2022, two months after his ex-wife filed for divorce. According to one online résumé, Garcia has worked with the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice as a Field Coordinator since 2018 and previously worked as a Campus Organizer with Texas Freedom Network.
Noyola and Carpenter filed a countersuit that alleged Silva knew about the abortion and did nothing to stop it.
Brittni Silva asked the court to dismiss the claims or not require her to produce documents or testify in court. She did share text messages that allegedly show Marcus Silva threatening her with a lawsuit to try to get her back. There are allegations of abuse by Marcus Silva toward his now ex-wife.
READ: More proof that some Planned Parenthood affiliates offer abortion pills past FDA-approved limits
Texas state law allows individuals to sue one another over alleged illegal abortions. The case was to go to trial before Silva dropped his lawsuit.
“While we are grateful that this fraudulent case is finally over, we are angry for ourselves and others who have been terrorized for the simple act of supporting a friend who is facing abuse,” Noyola said in a statement. “No one should ever have to fear punishment, criminalization, or a lengthy court battle for helping someone they care about.”
Carpenter added, “This case was about using the legal system to harass us for helping our friend, and scare others out of doing the same. After two years of being entangled in Mitchell and Silva’s campaign of abusive litigation, we were ready to fight this baseless suit in court. But the claims were dropped because they had nothing. We did nothing wrong, and we would do it all again.”
In situations of abuse, the preborn child — like born children — is innocent, and does not deserve the death penalty for the crimes of his or her father. Ending an innocent child’s life does not end abuse; it perpetuates it and visits it upon another innocent party in the most extreme way: death.
Editor’s Note: If you are pregnant and in an abusive situation, there is help available to you.
