DALLAS — New York’s attorney general has stepped into the ring against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, over an interstate abortion pill lawsuit that could set a precedent for abortion access across the country.
Letitia James, New York’s attorney general, announced Monday that she’s intervening in the ongoing case to argue the constitutionality of the state’s shield law. That law protects New York doctors from prosecution when they provide abortion care to residents of states with abortion bans.
“I am stepping in to defend the integrity of our laws and our courts against this blatant overreach,” James wrote in the Monday press release.
“Texas has no authority in New York, and no power to impose its cruel abortion ban here.”
Paxton’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday morning, but the office has issued press releases about this case in the past.
“No matter where they reside, pro-abortion extremists who send drugs designed to kill the unborn into Texas will face the full force of our state’s pro-life laws,” Paxton wrote in a July press release.
The case first kicked off in December, when Texas’ attorney general sued a New York doctor, Margaret Carpenter, for sending abortion pills to a pregnant woman in Collin County.
Under Texas’ strict abortion ban, it is illegal to mail abortion medication into the state, except for use by hospitals and doctors in rare medical emergencies.
When Carpenter didn’t respond to Paxton’s lawsuit, a Texas judge issued a default $100,000 judgment against the physician. But enforcing the judgment has been another matter.
Paxton asked a county clerk in New York — Acting Ulster County Clerk Taylor Bruck — to enforce the judgment, but Bruck declined because of New York’s shield law. In response, Paxton’s office sued him, too.
In suing the clerk, Paxton made an argument that the New York attorney general’s office sees as challenging the constitutionality of the shield law. That’s what triggered the New York attorney general to intervene in the case.
The case may determine whether or not states with strict abortion bans can reach outside the bounds of their state to enforce those laws, which could significantly impact Texans’ access to abortion.
Because of Texas’ strict ban, residents seeking abortions are left with two main options. They can either have abortion pills mailed to them or they can travel out of state for abortion care.
State lawmakers and law enforcement have tried to tamp down on the mailing of abortion pills, including through a newly passed bill that allows private citizens to sue out-of-state doctors and others.
But the battle between the New York and Texas attorneys general isn’t just about either of those states. As the first test of shield laws, the matter could also set a precedent for states across the country.
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