New York AG enters fight over abortion shield laws
New York Attorney General Letitia James is now intervening in a lawsuit filed by the Texas attorney general over the Empire State’s abortion shield law.
The move is an escalation in a legal battle between New York and Texas regarding a case that legal experts anticipate will be seen before the Supreme Court to determine if health care providers mailing abortion medication to states with abortion bans need to abide by their state laws.
At least eight states have enacted an abortion shield law that protects abortion providers and patients from civil and criminal action regardless of their location.
These laws enable providers living in states where abortion is legal, like New York, to send abortion pills to people in states like Texas, where the procedure is almost entirely outlawed.
James officially notified Ulster County Supreme Court Judge David Gandin on Monday that she will intervene in the lawsuit and essentially serve as another defendant in the case.
“I am stepping in to defend the integrity of our courts against this blatant overreach,” James said in a statement. “Texas has no authority in New York, and no power to impose its cruel abortion ban here.”
Late last year, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued New York doctor Margaret Carpenter for allegedly violating the state’s almost near-total abortion ban by mailing abortion medication to a Texas woman.
A Texas judge ordered Carpenter to pay $100,000 in fines and $13,000 in legal fees after she and her attorney failed to appear at a court hearing regarding the lawsuit.
A New York county clerk refused to enforce the collection of fines in March, citing the state’s abortion shield law. Paxton’s office requested the clerk act again over the summer, but he refused the Texas official a second time.
Paxton then took legal action against the clerk a second time, seeking a writ of mandamus to try and force the clerk to file the Texas ruling in state court.
Texas is not the only state to try to press charges against Carpenter. A Louisiana grand jury also indicted Carpenter for violating the state’s abortion law, resulting in local law enforcement issuing an arrest warrant for her. Louisiana Jeff Landry issued an extradition request for Carpenter, which New York officials have rebuffed.
Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter, we’re Nathaniel Weixel, Joseph Choi and Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.
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