TX and NY Face Off Over Abortion

New York and Texas are involved in a showdown that could determine whether states must honor each other's abortion laws.

"Shield laws" emerged in at least eight states that support abortion rights after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022. These laws protect health care providers who prescribe abortion pills through telemedicine and mail them to patients in states with abortion bans. The Texas State Senate previously passed legislation allowing residents to sue medical providers, pharmaceutical companies, and courier services that deliver abortion pills to Texans.

On Monday, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced she would defend her state's shield law after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued a clerk in Ulster County, NY, for refusing to enforce a Texas judgment against a New York doctor.

The case began when Paxton sued a New York doctor in December 2024, accusing her of violating Texas' abortion ban by mailing abortion pills to a Texas woman. A Texas judge ordered the New York doctor to pay $113,000 in penalties, but the Ulster County clerk twice refused to file the judgment, citing New York's shield law.

Paxton filed a challenge in the New York State Supreme Court in July, arguing that New York's shield law violates the Constitution's Full Faith and Credit Clause, which requires states to respect other states' laws and judicial proceedings. "The state of New York, acting through the Ulster County Clerk, should not be permitted to escape the constitutional obligation under the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the US Constitution," Paxton wrote in court documents. James countered that "Texas has no authority in New York, and no power to impose its cruel abortion ban here."

16 Republican attorneys general wrote to Congress in July, asking for federal action against shield laws, calling them "blatant attempts to interfere with states' ability to enforce criminal laws within their borders." Meanwhile, states with shield laws strengthened their protections. New York passed "Shield Law 2.0" in June, which prohibits hospitals and clinics from cooperating with out-of-state investigations. California legislators are expected to approve a bill this month allowing abortion pills to be sent without the names of patients, prescribers, or pharmacists on packages.