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Re:Lyft, Uber lash out at legal threat from strict Texas abo... by AdrianB1 on Saturday September 04, 2021 @05:51PM (#28419636)
Correct, would they also sue bus drivers, train conductors and plane pilots? Do they need pregnancy tests for anyone taking a taxi?
Re:Lyft, Uber lash out at legal threat from strict Texas abo... by viraptor on Saturday September 04, 2021 @05:54PM (#28419671)
Not disagreeing with the law being insane, but the difference there is that cab drivers drop you off / pick you up from a specific address. The other options are mass transport which takes you to the general area only, so they have no information where you're going.
Re:Lyft, Uber lash out at legal threat from strict Texas abo... by MisterSandman on Saturday September 04, 2021 @06:04PM (#28419745)
I'm curious, though, can an Uber driver be sued if they happen to take a passenger to a school and the passenger commits a mass shooting?

How would the driver even know the women is pregnant or going to get an abortion? It's not like there are clinics that ONLY do abortions.

Re:Lyft, Uber lash out at legal threat from strict Texas abo... by commoner on Saturday September 04, 2021 @06:15PM (#28419855)
Anyone can be sued for any infraction of the law, but to establish that a defendant is "aiding and abetting", it needs to be shown that the defendant was aware that the offense would be committed:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aiding_and_abetting#United_Sta...

However, since this law leaves the defendant liable for legal fees, it could be used to financially harm any defendant whether or not the allegation has merit.

Re:Lyft, Uber lash out at legal threat from strict Texas abo... by paulgb on Saturday September 04, 2021 @06:35PM (#28419998)
That's for a specific provision of criminal law, but SB8 creates a civil liability even when the person did not know that the abortion being performed is illegal:

“regardless of whether the person knew or should have known that the abortion would be performed or induced in violation of this subchapter”

Re:Lyft, Uber lash out at legal threat from strict Texas abo... by commoner on Saturday September 04, 2021 @06:53PM (#28420108)
Ah, thanks for the correction.

> Civil liability for aiding and abetting, however, represents a very underdeveloped theory within common law tort. Courts have stated, seemingly in jest, that precedents in this area of law are "largely confined to isolated acts of adolescents in rural society."

https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?a...

Looks like uncharted waters.

Re:Lyft, Uber lash out at legal threat from strict Texas abo... by paulgb on Saturday September 04, 2021 @06:13PM (#28419834)
> How would the driver even know the women is pregnant or going to get an abortion? It's not like there are clinics that ONLY do abortions.

Ah, but that's the point. Any clinic that even thinks of performing an abortion will become a social pariah out of fear of repercussions.

Re:Lyft, Uber lash out at legal threat from strict Texas abo... by viraptor on Sunday September 05, 2021 @01:51AM (#28421917)
See: people protesting around Planned Parenthood places.
Re:Lyft, Uber lash out at legal threat from strict Texas abo... by AdrianB1 on Saturday September 04, 2021 @06:03PM (#28419740)
The address can be across the street of the place you want to go, right? Same for the bus station. Not sure how taxis work in Texas, but in my country I can just tell the driver a street name and then where to stop, so the driver does not know where I am going.