Three Republican states went to the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to challenge abortion. “shield laws” protecting providers in three Democratic states, intensifying the legal conflict over the pills that account for the majority of abortions.
The attorneys general of Alabama, Arkansas and Louisiana say the laws in California, Massachusetts and New York infringe on their states’ abortion bans and sovereignty. Federal regulations allow prescriptions for abortion pills to be made by telehealth and filled by mail, and the three Republican states want to ban access to the pills and punish out-of-state providers for mailing them.
“This is the first time we’ve seen a state or group of states sue other states to challenge the validity of protection laws,” said Mary Ziegler, University of California, Davis, a law professor and author of seven books on abortion law and history.
The Supreme Court can hear disputes between states directly, although it rarely does so. If the highest court intervenes, it could short-circuit existing lawsuits.
Louisiana and anti-abortion activists were frustrated by the lack of federal action by President Donald Trump’s administration against medical abortion. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration over its rules allowing mail-order prescriptions. In May, the Supreme Court preserved access to abortion drugs this case is played.
“We need and deserve the opportunity to be able to enforce our laws against those who have chosen, despite their knowledge of the illegality, to continue to promote abortion in our state,” Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said at a news conference with Murrill and Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin.
Thirteen states ban abortion at all stages of pregnancy, which the Supreme Court allowed in its 2022 decision. overturn Roe v. Wade. Most Democratic-controlled states have passed abortion protections, including eight with laws intended to protect providers who prescribe abortion pills to patients in banned states.
Louisiana and Texas have filed criminal and civil charges against doctors based in New York and California. Authorities in California and New York refused to cooperate, citing their shield laws.
“Louisiana, Alabama and Arkansas are asking the Supreme Court to let them impose their abortion ban in New York and punish our doctors for providing lawful health care,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement Wednesday.
Ziegler said Alabama, Arkansas and Louisiana would have a stronger case if they had first tried to get the highest court in one of the other three states to force its officials to cooperate. She also said the timing of the trial was odd — six weeks before November’s congressional midterm elections that could prove difficult for the GOP.
“This could be an example of the fact that political incentives are not the same for state-level Republicans as they are for federal Republicans,” she said. “If you’re in a contested race, drawing attention to abortion is not a good idea, but if you’re attorney general of Louisiana, you’re not really in that position.”
But Rachel Rebouche, a law professor at the University of Texas, said suing other states has been a potential legal strategy for Republican states since the first shield laws were enacted.
“The fact that it took this long is pretty remarkable,” she said.
Even before Roe was overturned, abortion pills were the most common way in the United States, and telehealth makes abortion accessible even where it is prohibited. All three GOP attorneys general said hundreds of patients in their states use pills each month to end their pregnancies.
Also Wednesday, Alabama, Arkansas and Louisiana filed a lawsuit against 30 out-of-state abortion pill suppliers and their executives, accusing them of false advertising and other misconduct harming patients in states that ban abortion.
FDA scientists have repeatedly found the diet to be safe and effective, although the agency is revising its rules.
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