AUSTIN, Texas A Texas man who sued his ex-wife’s friends for assisting her in obtaining an abortion informed the court that the two parties reached an agreement, eliminating the need for a trial that would have tested his claim that their acts amounted to assisting in a wrongful death.
Marcus Silva’s attorneys and the three women he sued last year submitted court papers this week announcing a settlement. Two of the women countersued Silva for invasion of privacy, but those claims have since been dismissed, according to court records.
As of Friday, the judge had not yet approved the deal. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed in court records, but a spokeswoman for the defendants stated that there were no financial obligations.
“While we are relieved that this fraudulent case has been resolved, we are angry for ourselves and others who have been terrorized for simply supporting a friend who is being abused,” Jackie Noyola, one of the women, said in a statement. “No one should ever have to fear punishment, criminalization, or a lengthy court battle for helping someone they care about.”
Abortion rights supporters were concerned that the case will open up new paths for legal action against those who assist women in obtaining abortions, creating a chilling effect in Texas and across the country.
Last year, Silva filed a lawsuit against his ex-wife, Brittni Silva, and her friends for providing her with abortion drugs. According to court filings, he alleged that their assistance amounted to murder and sought $1 million in damages.
Two of the defendants, Noyola and Amy Carpenter, filed a counter-suit against Silva for invasion of privacy. They dismissed their counterclaims Thursday night, following the settlement.
“This case was about using the legal system to harass us for helping our friend, and scare others out of doing the same,” Carpenter informed us. “However, the allegations were abandoned since they had nothing. We did nothing wrong, and we would do everything again.”
Brittni and Marcus Silva divorced in February 2023, only weeks before Silva filed his case. The defendants claimed in their countersuit that Silva was a “serial emotional abuser” seeking vengeance and that he improperly accessed Brittni’s phone without her permission.
Silva was represented by Jonathan Mitchell, a former Texas solicitor general who helped draft Senate Bill 8, a severe Texas abortion ban, before the United States Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Mitchell declined to comment on Friday.
Brittni Silva took the prescription in July 2022, according to court documents. It was only a few weeks after the Supreme Court ruled that states could prohibit abortion. The lawsuit stated that the defendants exchanged text messages discussing how to procure abortion drugs.
Earlier this year, an appeals court denied Silva’s attorney’s attempt to obtain information from his ex-wife for a wrongful death lawsuit against her acquaintances. The Texas Supreme Court maintained the ruling, criticizing Silva in the footnotes of a concurring opinion signed by two conservative justices, Jimmy Blacklock and Phillip Devine.
“He has engaged in disgracefully vicious harassment and intimidation of his ex-wife,” the newspaper’s report stated. “I can imagine no legitimate excuse for Marcus’s behavior as reflected in this record, many of the details of which are not fit for reproduction in a judicial opinion.”
According to KFF survey results, abortion is a crucial topic this campaign season and the number one priority for women under the age of thirty.
Thirteen states prohibit abortion at any stage of pregnancy, including Texas, which has some of the strictest regulations in the country. This election, nine states will have measures on the ballot to defend the right to abortion.
