You've probably heard of Texas’ SB8, a law that empowered regular citizens to sue anyone involved in helping a woman get an abortion, and made it all the more tantalizing for them to do so by promising a minimum of $10,000 in damages, plus attorney fees.
In this week's Big Feature, Pema is here to tell you that SB8 is just the beginning. Her incisive piece walks us through the terrifying rise of vigilante laws as a tool to enact the GOP’s agenda on everything from abortion to LGBTQ rights and classroom instruction about racism. And it widens the lens to show us the extent to which this legal trend is a growing threat to our democracy.
She opens with the moment when a woman who runs an abortion fund opens her door on a weekend to find that she’s being served legal papers at her home: an intimidation tactic from an anti-abortion advocate empowered by Texas’ vigilante abortion law.
That early morning knock on the door, the ominous legal papers, and the knowledge that someone out there is looking for a chance to sue you are the features of a dystopian new trend: The rise of vigilante enforcement to reverse progress and entrench physical and psychological control over women, LGBTQ people, and people of color.
These laws do not stop at targeting society’s most vulnerable. They also attack the legal and social norms that underpin our system of government. They turn citizens into spies in a surveillance scheme more reminiscent of a totalitarian state, and shred the vital principle that the laws are applied equally to all people.
One of the things I admire most about this story is how it weaves in historical concepts that show off Pema’s knack for sharp, reported analysis. It was a true privilege to edit this piece and I hope you take the time to sit with it today.
—Hannah Levintova