The doctor didn’t know what to do, either.
The doctor didn’t know what to do, either. One provision in S.B. 8 allows private citizens to sue people who “aid or abet” women seeking abortion care and collect ten thousand dollars in return. So, in addition to trying to treat and counsel patients as thoughtfully as possible, doctors must beware of anyone who might be asking questions for the wrong reason. The woman could be setting her up for money. “It’s terrifying because I can’t really speak my mind fully,” the ob-gyn later told me. “You never know who you can trust.” Finally, out of instinct and in haste, the doctor jotted the names of a few clinics out of state on a piece of paper and slipped it under the table. “This conversation never happened,” she told the mother, looking evenly at her.