Three pro-life states file lawsuit against abortion shield laws

The attorneys general of Alabama, Arkansas, and Louisiana on Wednesday sued 29 individuals they said were guilty of shipping abortion drugs into their states. According to the lawsuit, the defendants mailed the deadly drugs to women in the southern states without penalty. On the same day, the attorneys general also filed a lawsuit directly with the U.S. Supreme Court against California, Massachusetts, and New York over their so-called shield laws.

The attorneys general argued that the laws have prevented local authorities from enforcing pro-life protections. All three of the plaintiff states protect unborn babies at every stage of pregnancy, excluding some limited exceptions, and explicitly prohibit the prescription and mailing of chemical abortion pills. Shield laws allow officials in pro-abortion states to refuse to extradite abortionists to pro-life states where they are accused of violating local laws. Last year, authorities in New York refused to enforce fines and subpoenas brought by Texas and Louisiana against abortionist Margaret Carpenter. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall called the shield laws a coordinated effort by out-of-state bad actors to defy Alabama law.

What are the states asking for? In the case against California, Massachusetts, and New York, the attorneys general are asking the Supreme Court to rule the shield laws unconstitutional. In the case against the individuals accused of mailing drugs, the states are asking a federal court to declare their actions a public nuisance and grant them injunctive relief and damages.

Dig deeper: Read my report about another ongoing lawsuit aimed at stopping mail-order abortion drugs.