“If Texas gets away with this ploy, the constitutional right to abortion will be the first but certainly not the last target of states unwilling to accept federal law with which they disagree,” the abortion clinics’ brief argues.

Roberts seemed to endorse this concern in his earlier dissent, warning about the Texas law becoming “a model for action in other areas.”

Some lawyers have discussed how the Texas approach could be applied to allow private suits against gunmakers, even by people not directly affected by violence, or to give private actors authority to effectively veto expansions of religious institutions.

“Maybe Thomas, Alito or Gorsuch will gasp and say, ‘Oh my God, will they be able to do that?’” Fredrickson said.

Still, some dispute just how novel Texas’ approach is, since some states have allowed “private attorney general” enforcement in areas like the environment for decades.