‘This is TALIBANISM’: MSNBC’s Joy Reid flips out over Texas law enabling citizens to sue abortion clinics

A new Texas law that enables Americans to sue abortion clinics was so triggering to media figures and activists that MSNBC host Joy Reid went so far as to liken the state’s Republican leaders to the Taliban.

“This is Talibanism,” Reid said on Monday in a Twitter post. “Are Texas conservatives going to be spying on women of childbearing age and turning them in for bounties?”

The comparison of elected legislators to people who murder villagers, gang-rape civilians and destroy ancient art came in response to the Texas Heartbeat Act, which bans abortions after a baby’s heartbeat can be detected. 

Notably, the law makes exceptions for medical emergencies, but it doesn’t yield for cases of rape or incest beyond the heartbeat deadline, which is about six weeks after conception. It also allows Americans to sue abortion providers and parties who facilitate abortions that violate the law.

Because the law would essentially be enforced by private citizens through lawsuits, rather than state-imposed penalties, it may have a better chance of withstanding legal challenges. Restrictive abortion laws in states such as Louisiana and North Carolina have been struck down, while the US Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal of a case in which Mississippi's ban on abortions past 15 weeks was blocked.

Washington Post writer Jennifer Rubin said the Texas law could lead to spying, extortion and “other vengeful behavior” directed toward women. “The law depends on what others know about her reproductive health and are willing to tell the authorities to grab a $10,000 bounty.”

The president of Planned Parenthood, the largest US abortion provider, called the Texas law “nothing short of cruelty and extremism.” “Your abortion is your business – not a politician’s, not your neighbor’s and definitely not a complete stranger’s,” Alexis McGill Johnson said.

Reid tweeted a clip from "The Handmaid’s Tale,” captioned, “I mean, what’s next, Texas? What's next, GOP?”

Reid went further with her Taliban analogy, but she wasn’t alone. Christopher Bouzy, founder of Bot Sentinel Inc., bragged that he’s been calling anti-abortion Republicans the Taliban since 2019. 

The comparison is perhaps more ill-timed today, when the Taliban militants are retaking large swathes of Afghanistan as President Joe Biden withdraws US troops from the Central Asian country. “Yeah, you hate the Taliban so much that you are actively cheering Biden handing them an entire country,” one Twitter commenter said.

Pro-choice group Women’s March lamented that the Texas law would allow people to sue not only surgery providers, but also nurses, friends and others who facilitate post-heartbeat abortions. “It’s a cruel tactic meant to insulate Texas from federal lawsuits,” the group said. “But let's be clear: It won't stop us from fighting back.”

Another group, Emily’s List, called the law a “weapon for oppression,” saying it could be used as leverage in “divorce proceedings, neighborhood feuds and as a tool for abusive partners.”

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