Greater than a dozen Republican-led states are urging Congress to ban abortion defend legal guidelines, items of laws handed in states the place abortion is authorized that shield abortion suppliers from legal responsibility for violating anti-abortion legal guidelines in different states.
A complete of 15 GOP attorneys normal signed and despatched a letter to congressional management this week requesting federal motion be taken to preempt abortion defend legal guidelines, arguing they intrude with states’ potential to implement felony legal guidelines.
The attorneys normal additionally argue of their letter that the legal guidelines battle with the Structure’s “full faith and credit clause” in addition to its Extradition Clause.
“Congress should consider stepping in to remedy this problem,” their letter reads. “Instead of allowing pro-abortion States to disrespect the decisions of other States regarding abortion and trample the Constitution, Congress should assess whether it should tackle this issue head on with legislation that preempts state shield laws.”
Signees embody Texas Legal professional Normal Ken Paxton (R) and Louisiana Legal professional Normal Liz Murrill (R), each of whom have taken authorized motion in opposition to a New York physician for allegedly prescribing and mailing abortion capsules to girls of their respective states.
Texas and Louisiana have virtually completely banned abortion with some exceptions to save lots of the lifetime of the pregnant particular person or forestall “permanent impairment” of a life-sustaining organ.
Paxton sued the physician — Margaret Carpenter — in December for allegedly sending abortion capsules to a 20-year-old Texan lady final yr. A Texas decide ordered Carpenter pay greater than $100,000 in penalties for violating Texas’s abortion legislation, however neither she nor her lawyer appeared on the courtroom listening to or responded to Paxton’s lawsuit.
A grand jury in Louisiana indicted Carpenter for allegedly mailing abortion capsules through telehealth into the state shortly after lawmakers handed a legislation classifying the medicine mifepristone and misoprostol as managed substances.
A couple of months later, Murrill introduced her workplace was launching an investigation into the physician after Carpenter allegedly offered abortion medicine to a lady who then wanted to go to a hospital afterward.
New York’s abortion defend legislation has prevented Texas and Louisiana from extraditing or fining Carpenter.
Paxton has tried twice to stress a New York county clerk to implement a Texas civil judgment to no success. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has taken authorized motion in opposition to the clerk and is in search of a writ of mandamus to implement the judgment and ensure Carpenter pays the Texas penalties.
