Abstract
The Texas Heartbeat Act (SB 8) adopted a unique enforcement scheme that succeeded in circumventing Roe v. Wade’s protection of a woman’s right to abortion before viability. By prohibiting enforcement of the Act by public officials and instead authorizing enforcement solely through civil actions by “any person,” SB 8 effectively ended a women’s right to abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected. The passage of this law placed the protection of other constitutionally endowed rights in jeopardy and facilitated the passage of similarly constructed legislation, such as California’s Senate Bill 1327, which authorizes “any person” to sue anyone who manufactures or distributes illegal firearms. Recent articles have examined various avenues for defeating these bounty laws but have fallen short of reaching a pathway to combat this legislation and its harmful effects. This article specifically examines how standing doctrine in Texas and California enables the success of bounty laws, and potential strategies for challenging these laws through state standing jurisprudence.
Recommended Citation
Olivia A. Luzzio,
Standing Up to Bounty Laws: Examining State Standing Jurisprudence and Its Effect on Laws Enforced Through Private Rights of Action,
30 Wash. & Lee J. Civ. Rts. & Soc. Just. 493
(2024).
Available at: https://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/crsj/vol30/iss2/13
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