Fighting back

There needs to be as much of this as possible:

The New York State Legislature gave final approval on Tuesday to legislation that provides legal protection for New York doctors to prescribe and send abortion pills to patients in states that have outlawed abortion.

The measure, along with similar new laws in several other states controlled by Democrats, could significantly expand medication abortion access by allowing more patients in states that restrict abortion to end pregnancies at home, without traveling to states where abortion is legal.

The New York bill now goes to the desk of Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has indicated that she supports the idea of such a shield law. The bill stipulates that New York courts and officials will not cooperate if a state with an abortion ban tries to prosecute, sue or otherwise penalize a New York health care provider who offers abortion via telemedicine to a patient in that state, as long as the provider complies with New York law. It passed the State Assembly by a vote of 99 to 45 on Tuesday evening after clearing the Senate by a vote of 39 to 22 last month.

Since the Supreme Court ended the nationwide right to an abortion last year, legislation known as telemedicine abortion shield laws have been enacted in Massachusetts, Colorado, Vermont and Washington. But New York’s legislation is expected to have a notable impact. Several providers in New York say they plan to send abortion pills to patients in all restrictive states, and a few providers are speaking publicly, which those in other states with shield laws have so far not done.

We don’t know how the courts will react to this, but that’s no reason to preemptively capitulate.