Texas abortion law reignites debate over bounty hunters in the United States

A new Texas law, which came into force on Wednesday 1er September in the United States, allows citizens to denounce, for a reward, those who help women to abort. “It sounds ridiculous, almost anti-American,” indignant the President of the United States, Joe Biden, Friday, September 3, seeing it as an encouragement to denounce. “The most pernicious thing about this law in Texas is that it creates a sort of self-proclaimed vigilante system, with people collecting rewards.”, he lamented.

The law in question differs from other anti-abortion initiatives in the United States because it is based “Exclusively” on citizens. The text thus encourages the population to file a civil complaint against those who would help women to abort after six weeks of pregnancy. at this stage, many women are still unaware that they are pregnant. This entourage can include the doctor, but also potentially the taxi driver who brought the patient to the clinic or relatives who helped her finance the procedure.

In the event of a conviction, the citizen who denounced, who became the complainant, will receive at least 10,000 dollars in “Compensation” (around 8,500 euros).

Read also Why the highly restrictive law in Texas threatens the right to abortion in the United States

Seized urgently by family planning associations, the Supreme Court refused to block this law, dealing the most severe blow to the right to abortion in nearly half a century in the United States. Among those who would have liked to oppose it, the progressive magistrate Sonia Sotomayor denounced a decision “Astounding”, taken by five out of nine judges: ” In the facts, [le Texas] mandated the citizens of this state to become bounty hunters. “

Already, associations are calling for anonymously denouncing those who “Help or support” women seeking abortions and conservative officials from other states in the United States have said they want to follow the Texan example.

Tradition of “bounty hunters”

If the tradition of reward hunters dates back to the Middle Ages in Europe, this practice is now largely illegal around the world. It recalls the ancient times of the famous posters “Wanted” and vigilante cowboys from the American Wild West. A controversial activity that is found elsewhere in the world only in the Philippines.

In the United States, they do exist. Those bounty hunters (“Bounty hunters”) are responsible for looking for the fugitives, who are, for the most part, defendants released on bail pending their appearance before a judge and who have borrowed this sum from specialized companies. If the accused decides to flee, it is this company which mandates bounty hunters to find him and recover his deposit. Bulletproof vests, handcuffs… Some hunters can be heavily armed and even allowed to enter private residences.

“Today, many are in fact true private investigators, trained in accredited schools, according to Tristan Cabello, historian and professor at Johns Hopkins University. They are an essential cog in the American legal system, but the regulations for this profession differ from state to state. “

“A speech that speaks to the most conservative American citizens”

While it is difficult to estimate the exact number of these bounty hunters, an industry organization, the Professional Bail Agents of the United States, estimates it at 15,000. The National Association of Fugitive Recovery Agents suggests that 30,000 fugitives are apprehended each year using these methods.

This profession became famous with the westerns of the 1950s. “It is a speech that speaks to the most conservative American citizens”, remarks Mr. Cabello. But for other Americans, Texas law has awakened a “Trauma”, emphasizes Michele Goodwin, professor of law at the University of California: the memory of the rewards offered to those who captured blacks trying to escape slavery.

“In the United States, there is very little case law that empowers citizens to undermine freedom” constitutional rights of other citizens as does Texas law, according to the professor. “The only time we’ve seen it before is when Congress has (…) implemented these laws that allowed black people seeking their freedom to be hunted down and driven out. “

For Ken White, a former federal prosecutor, the “Law is calculated to overwhelm anyone perceived by conservatives to be linked to abortion, with costly, damning lawsuits”. And even if this “Deluge of little baseless lawsuits” does not come to an end, this legal course will be on its own “Destroyer” for the people concerned.

Read also Tech world rallies to defend Texas abortion rights against highly restrictive law

The World with AFP