Marcus Silva is suing his ex-wife’s friends who helped with the abortion
People gather outside the J. Marvin Jones Federal Building and the Mary Lou Robinson United States Courthouse to protest a lawsuit to ban the abortion drug mifepristone Saturday, February 11, 2023, in Amarillo, Texas. (AP Photo/Justin Rex)
A Texas man is suing three women for $1 million each, alleging wrongful death conspiracy and accusing them of murder for helping his ex-wife obtain a medical abortion.
Marcus Silva, a Galveston resident, and his wife divorced in February, according to Texas court records. However, in July 2022, his then-wife apparently discovered she was pregnant “with a child fathered by Marcus,” according to a civil lawsuit filed Thursday. The complaint notes that Silva and his ex-wife share two daughters.
Silva’s then wife apparently turned to two of her friends for help. According to the lawsuit, they helped her obtain drugs that would induce an abortion. The third defendant is the person who delivered the pill to Silva’s ex, according to the lawsuit.
“Under Texas law, a person who assists a pregnant woman to obtain a self-administered abortion has committed the crime of murder and may be charged with wrongful death,” the lawsuit begins, citing three sections of the Texas Penal Code Homicide and the Penal Code in general, but do not mention abortion.
Although Silva does not specify exactly when his former wife had her self-administered abortion, his claim that it happened in July 2022 means the Supreme Court has ruled Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed some degree of abortion access nationwide. Abortion has been illegal in Texas since the 2022 court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, according to Planned Parenthood. Additionally, Texas passed SB 8 — the so-called “bounty hunter” law, which allows any Texas resident to bring a private lawsuit against any person who “assists or encourages the performing or obtaining of an abortion” after fetal heart activity has been detected — usually about six weeks after the onset of pregnancy. The award of damages to the prevailing plaintiffs in these cases, according to the law, is “not less than $10,000” for each abortion “performed or effected”.
Silva charged under the state’s civil statutes wrongful death and conspiracy, seeking $1 million in damages from each of the three defendants. He also accuses his ex-wife’s friends of violating the Texas penal code, specifically the “murder law.”
Law&Crime has chosen not to disclose the names of the defendants identified in the lawsuit. Silva’s ex “is free from civil and criminal liability as the mother of the murdered unborn child and Marcus is not pursuing any claims against her,” the complaint reads.
According to the complaint, which appears to have attached text message images as exhibits, Silva’s ex-wife wrote to two of her friends about the availability, timing and logistics for obtaining and performing a medical abortion, which is most effective in pregnancies shorter than eight weeks and requires no intervention in a doctor’s office.
“You can do it at home,” one of the women offered, according to the exhibition to Silva’s then-wife. “We can take the day off and do it at my place if you want.”
“I agree 100% with that,” replied Silva’s ex-wife. “Just tell me what I need to do and I’ll take care of it as soon as possible.”
“Thank you very much,” she later added.
“[Y]our help means the world to me,” Silva’s ex later wrote, according to the complaint. “I[‘]I’m so lucky to have you all. Really […] I was stupid to do all this. I didn’t think this would happen as it hasn’t happened in 7 years either. But it’s still up to me. I know I screwed up. Don’t let that happen again.”
“Mistakes happen,” her friend replied. “You can’t spiral. Hopefully that’s the body punch you need to break away from him.”
“Yes, that’s for sure,” Silva’s ex replied. “I can’t risk anything like that in general. Especially with him.”
While it’s not clear how Silva received these text messages, an exchange between the friends reveals that they were worried that’s exactly what was happening.
“Delete all conversations from today,” advised a friend of his ex-wife. “You don’t want him to see through it,” she added.
Texts from Silva’s ex also reveal that she doesn’t want to share the news of her pregnancy with him.
“I know he’s going to use it against me either way,” she apparently wrote. “If I told him beforehand what I’m not, that’s how he would use it [sic] try to stay with me And in hindsight, I know he’ll try to pretend he’s entitled to the decision. At least at this point it doesn’t matter.”
In these lyrics, Silva didn’t see a group of women supporting her friend through a challenging time. He saw an assassination plot.
The defendants, he says in his lawsuit, “supported [his ex-wife] in murder [her] unborn child with illegally obtained abortion pills. [They] also instructed [his ex-wife] to conceal their criminal and murderous activities from plaintiff Marcus A. Silva, the child’s father and husband of [the ex-wife]. [One friend] ordered the delivery of the illegal drugs [a third woman]used to murder baby Silva in July 2022.”
In the complaint, Silva includes a picture of his wife and their friends from Halloween 2022. Dressed as characters from The Handmaid’s Tale as portrayed in the television series, based on Margaret Atwood’s novel of the same name, the television series envisions a world where women who are able to bear children are forcibly impregnated and forced to give birth.
“On Halloween 2022, [two defendants and Silva’s ex-wife] celebrated the murder by dressing up in Handmaid’s Tale costumes for Halloween,” the complaint reads, before identifying not only the two suspects but also his ex-wife. Four other women – none of whom appear to be connected to the lawsuit – are also in the picture, their faces visible. Silva says the picture is “displayed” on the Facebook page of his ex-wife’s employer, which he then names. This company, an accounting firm, has made its Facebook page private.
Silva’s attorney, Jonathan Mitchell, is known as one of the architects of SB 8. It is not clear why Silva sued for wrongful death rather than under this law, or if he expects criminal charges to be brought. Mitchell did not immediately respond to Law&Crime’s request to clarify and confirm the authenticity of the text messages.
The complaint also suggests that Silva intends to add more defendants to the case.
“The maker of the abortion pills [his ex-wife] will be jointly and severally liable for Baby Silva’s wrongful death and will be added as a defendant once identified upon discovery,” the complaint reads. “The maker of the pills caused Baby Silva’s death by a ‘wrong act’ for violating “state obscenity laws, which also prohibit the shipment of material or drugs used to perform abortions or for any indecent or immoral purpose are determined”.
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https://lawandcrime.com/abortion/texas-man-files-wrongful-death-lawsuit-against-ex-wifes-friends-who-helped-her-get-abortion-pill-accuses-them-of-murder/ Marcus Silva is suing his ex-wife’s friends who helped with the abortion
