Sick of their “pro-life” crusade being stymied by courts, Republican lawmakers in Texas have come up with an innovative workaround to get one over the smartasses in robes who would freeze their next attempt to ban abortion drugs: Ban the courts from overturning it and leave them personally liable to up to $100,000 in damages for any ruling on its constitutionality, the Texas Tribune reports.
“I’ve never seen anything like that in any statute of any kind, anywhere,” said Dallas lawyer Charles Siegel, wowed by the legislative ingenuity. “It’s just crazy.” Republican state Senator Bryan Hughes was equally impressed by his own work. “We make the rules. We set the jurisdiction,” said Hughes.
“Could the Legislature now pass a law saying every time you vote for a Republican, it counts twice, and if you vote for a Democratic candidate, it counts once, and then put in these provisions that make it impossible to challenge?” Siegel asked, likely giving Hughes some even cooler new ideas.