Texas AG Ken Paxton just broke a fragile abortion truce between states

[pstokely]

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/texas-ken-paxton-new-york-abortion-pill-lawsuit-rcna184410

A fragile truce between the states on abortion just collapsed: Last week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against a doctor in New York for mailing pills into the state. The physician, Margaret Daly Carpenter, is part of a group called the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine, which represents doctors who mail abortion medications — in this case, mifepristone and misoprostol — to states where the procedure is banned. ACT refers to these clients as “shield providers” because they rely on the protections afforded by so-called shield laws, which are on the books in 23 states and the District of Columbia to protect providers and other possible defendants from out-of-state legal consequences. Texas’ suit is the first to challenge these shield laws, and it’s likely to raise unprecedented legal questions in the new year.

The genesis of shield laws dates from shortly before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, after Missouri considered (but ultimately didn’t pass) a bill that would project its abortion ban outside state lines. That inspired a pre-emptive strike from lawyers supportive of abortion rights, who drafted shield laws to prevent criminal and civil consequences for residents who helped out-of-state abortion-seekers.

[sinkingfeeling]

1. I wish "Mind your own damn business" was the law of the land.