Texas women being sued over helping friend get abortion file counterclaim

A group of Texas women being sued by a friend’s ex-husband over helping their friend get access to abortion medication filed a counterclaim Monday, alleging that the ex-husband knew that she had received the abortion medication.

Marcus Silva filed a lawsuit against three women in March, accusing them of helping his ex-wife, Brittni Silva, obtain medication pills to have an abortion. He alleges that they violated Texas law prohibiting someone from helping a pregnant woman obtain an abortion themselves. Silva also filed a charge of conspiracy against the women, accusing them of telling his ex-wife not to tell him about their actions. 

Two of the three women filed a counterclaim Monday, alleging that Marcus Silva knew about about his ex-wife obtaining the pills. The women, Amy Carpenter and Jackie Noyola, are suing Silva for violating their right to privacy, adding that if there was a violation of abortion laws, Silva would be responsible as well, because he also knew about it.

The women allege in the court filing that Silva was a “serial emotional abuser” and that he wanted “to control” his ex-wife. They wrote that Silva violated his ex-wife’s privacy by looking through her cell phone.

“Rather than talking with [his ex-wife] about what he found or disposing of the pill, Silva took photos of the texts and surreptitiously put the pill back,” the court filing reads. “He wasn’t interested in stopping her from terminating a possible pregnancy. Instead, he wanted to obtain evidence he could use against her if she refused to stay under his control, which is precisely what he tried to do.”

The filing also includes screenshots of Brittni Silva’s text messages with one of the friends. The screenshots show her saying that Marcus Silva was going to have her thrown in jail if she did not give him her “mind body and soul.”

The filing alleged that Silva continued his “abusive behavior” of his ex-wife after their divorce was finalized in February. The women claim the motive of his lawsuit, filed a month after the divorce, is “revenge and profit.”

“Because he can’t sue Brittni, he filed a lawsuit against her best friends, Jackie and Amy, seeking over a million dollars in damages. However, Silva did not file this lawsuit because he has experienced any injury,” the filing reads. “Instead, he filed this lawsuit because he wanted to destroy the life of his ex-wife, Brittni, and the friends who helped her escape him.”