Mark Ruffalo calls for ‘mass civil disobedience’ over Texas abortion ban

New law prohibits abortions once medical professionals can detect cardiac activity

Mark Ruffalo has called for “mass civil disobedience” in response to new legislation banning most abortions in Texas.

The actor spoke out on Thursday afternoon, the day after the Supreme Court declined to block the law.

He shared a tweet from the Texas nonprofit RAICES, which provides legal services to immigrants.

In the tweet, the organisation pledged to “not obey this archaic and sexist law”, adding: “We’ve funded & supported access to abortions for immigrants in Texas for years and will continue to do so. Some laws are meant to be broken.”

Ruffalo expressed his support in his own tweet which read: “This should be how every women’s rights and abortion rights groups, organisations, and individuals should all react to this bill, making it impossible to enforce.

“Mass civil disobedience is in order.”

The new Texas law prohibits abortions once medical professionals can detect cardiac activity, usually around six weeks — before some people know they're pregnant.

It allows any private citizen to sue Texas abortion providers who violate the legislation, as well as anyone who “aids or abets” someone getting the procedure.

The law does not make exceptions for rape or incest. The person bringing the lawsuit — who needs to have no connection to the person getting an abortion — is entitled to at least $10,000 in damages if they prevail in court.

“Essentially, the Supreme Court has now given other states a roadmap for circumscribing Roe v Wade," Steven Schwinn, a constitutional law professor at the University of Illinois Chicago, told The Associated Press.

Roe v Wade is the landmark Supreme Court decision which made access to safe and legal abortions a Constitutional right in the US.

The Associated Press contributed to this report