New York official blocks a Texas fine for doctor accused of prescribing abortions: Who is right?

A dispute over a fine issued to a doctor that allegedly prescribed abortion pills to a woman in Texas has sparked new debate about laws designed to shield abortion providers.

The incident arose when a New York county clerk refused to file a $113,000 Texas judgement against a doctor accused of breaking the state’s laws by prescribing the pills through telemedicine. Texas law outlaws the practice in the alleged situation, but New York is one of 18 states with shield laws in place to protect providers.

Acting Ulster County clerk Taylor Bruck refused to enforce the fine, issued a statement explaining: “In accordance with the New York State Shield Law, I have refused this filing and will refuse any similar filings that may come to our office. Since this decision is likely to result in further litigation, I must refrain from discussing specific details about the situation.”

Texas responds to NY refusal

The overturning of Roe vs Wade removed the constitutional underpinning for abortion rights in the United States and transformed the landscape for women across the country. Many states moved swiftly to secure abortion rights in their own laws and others implemented ‘abortion shield laws’ with the intention of protecting access more broadly.

Shield laws protect patients, medical professionals and others from civil and criminal actions from states with active abortion bans. The exact protections offered by each state vary greatly but it often includes a refusal to cooperate with another state’s punishment of providers or recipients of the treatment.

New York has shield laws relating to telemedicine, which are often considered to be among the more contention of shield laws. Writing on social media, Republican Texas State Attorney General Ken Paxton demanded that the doctor in question be subject to Texas law.

“New York is shredding the Constitution to hide lawbreakers from justice, and it must end,” Paxton said on X. “I will not stop my efforts to enforce Texas’s pro-life laws that protect our unborn children and mothers.”

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has publicly sided with the health professional, saying that she would not consider extradition, “not now, not ever”. However the pressure on these shield laws is growing and Texas and Louisiana have now both initiated legal challenges to the protections received by a New York doctor. The cases will not be resolved imminently but they will eventually provide a crucial piece of legal precedent when it comes to reconstructing the US’ abortion framework in a post-Roe vs Wade world.

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