Three states ask the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down shield laws in New York, California and Massachusetts
WASHINGTON — Khadijah M. Silver (they/them), civil rights attorney and Director of Gender Justice & Health Equity at Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG), issued the following statement after the attorneys general of Louisiana, Alabama and Arkansas asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to strike down shield laws in New York, California and Massachusetts, and sued 30 providers and organizations that prescribe or distribute abortion medication in federal court in Louisiana:
“This lawsuit is about more than abortion pills. It asks the Supreme Court to let one state rule another.
“Louisiana, Alabama and Arkansas cannot have it both ways — having argued that abortion should be left to the states, they cannot turn around and ask the Court to erase that choice, forcing their own laws onto New York, California and Massachusetts.
“That is not only a threat to abortion access. It is a threat to federalism itself — the constitutional balance of power between the states, which has not faced a demand like this since the Civil War. Frustrated by the fact that blue state shield laws have created a lifeline for individuals in need of care, anti-abortion states now ask the highest court in the country to adopt and enforce their anti-abortion policies and misinformation, escalating their campaign to ban abortion nationwide.
“Providers across the country are already asking whether care that is legal where they practice could cost them their license or their freedom. Shield laws were built for exactly this moment, and we will continue to defend them.”
L4GG’s Gender Justice & Health Equity team has helped draft and strengthen shield laws in states across the country, including the New Jersey law Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed in August. Nearly two dozen states and the District of Columbia now have laws protecting patients and providers from out-of-state investigations and prosecutions over care that is legal where it is provided.
Attorneys from L4GG’s Gender Justice & Health Equity team are available to discuss the lawsuits, what they mean for shield laws nationwide and the constitutional questions they raise. To schedule an interview, please contact Jordan Wilhelmi at jordan@unbendablemedia.com.