The man behind the Texas abortion law says women can 'control their reproductive lives by refraining from sex'

The man described as the legal architect of Texas's new anti-abortion law has argued in past briefs that women can "control their reproductive lives" by committing themselves to abstinence.

The Guardian reports that former Texas solicitor general Jonathan Mitchell, who was instrumental in getting the new Texas anti-abortion law in place, has argued before to the United States Supreme Court that outlawing abortion will not take away a woman's right to control her body since she will still have the option of not engaging in sex.

"Women can 'control their reproductive lives' without access to abortion; they can do so by refraining from sexual intercourse," he wrote in a brief earlier this year. "One can imagine a scenario in which a woman has chosen to engage in unprotected (or insufficiently protected) sexual intercourse on the assumption that an abortion will be available to her later. But when this court announces the overruling of Roe, that individual can simply change their behavior in response to the court's decision if she no longer wants to take the risk of an unwanted pregnancy."

Of course, the law that Mitchell helped enact in Texas allows private citizens to file lawsuits against anyone who provides or even aids and abets an abortion -- even if the person getting the abortion became pregnant due to rape.

Read Mitchell's full brief here (PDF).