Anti-abortion activists boasted of getting pills. Now they’re sued under their law.

The lawsuit seeks nearly $460,000 from the defendants — a figure representing the estimated average cost of raising two children to adulthood in Texas

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A Texas woman is suing four anti-abortion activists under a state statute their own organization supported, alleging they illegally ordered abortion pills during an undercover operation.

The four defendants named in the complaint are Kristan Mercer Hawkins, the founder and president of Students for Life — a national youth anti-abortion organization — and staff members Lydia Taylor Davis, Jamie Curry and Megan Roos.

The lawsuit stems from a March Instagram post in which Hawkins shared a photo taken with two staff members outside Space Center Houston. Overlaid text on the image read: “Guess what we are doing? Ordering abortion pills undercover? Yep. Stay tuned.”

Successful suits carry statutory damages starting at $100,000 per violation. The law explicitly exempts women who seek or obtain abortion medication for their own pregnancies.

In the filing, lawyers contend the defendants were not pregnant when making the request, placing them directly within the purview of the statute. Puerto is seeking $459,782 from the four activists, an amount the suit notes reflects the estimated average cost of raising two children to age 18 in Texas.

Puerto told The New York Times she intended to direct any remaining proceeds to Jane’s Due Process, a non-profit assisting minors affected by state abortion restrictions.

Molly Duane, litigation director at Amplify Legal and attorney for Puerto, criticized the defendants’ actions.

“They bragged publicly about violating a law that they themselves had worked really hard to get passed,” Duane said. “So you know the hubris really of breaking a law that you advocated for. I don’t think it’s funny.”

Puerto said the state’s abortion laws drove her decision to file suit.

Living in South Texas, Puerto became pregnant in 2022 while taking birth control, following the implementation of Texas’s broad abortion ban. Unable to travel out of state and caring for her ailing mother, she carried the pregnancy to term. According to the lawsuit, severe morning sickness caused her to miss classes and lose a scholarship, and she was later fired from her job at a convenience store.