BATON ROUGE — Louisiana, Alabama and Arkansas are suing New York, California and Massachusetts in the U.S. Supreme Court over what Attorney General Liz Murrill calls "Abortion Shield Laws." 

Murrill, alongside the AGs from Arkansas and Alabama, said Wednesday that the "shield laws" are unconstitutional and violate federal law by promoting and facilitating the distribution of abortion drugs through the mail.

Following 2022's Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned the court's previous ruling in 1973's Roe v. Wade, multiple states, including New York, California and Massachusetts, passed laws that restrict cooperation with out-of-state law enforcement, limit extradition and prevent the enforcement of certain out-of-state judgments and subpoenas. Murrill said these laws effectively "harbor providers who prescribe and mail illegal abortion drugs."

"Shield laws are thus not shields at all; they are swords disguised as shields and driven into pro-life states," Murrill said.

Louisiana, alongside the two other states listed in the suit, is asking the Supreme Court to "hold that these laws violate the Full Faith and Credit Clause, the equal-sovereignty doctrine, the federal common law of public nuisance and the Dormant Commerce Clause," effectively allowing doctors who ship abortion drugs from states where it is legal to states where it is criminalized to face consequences in the states where it is prohibited. 

"Louisiana has made its position on abortion clear through the bipartisan will of the people’s representatives in its Legislature. Louisiana chooses life. We will not allow activist states, activist providers, or distributors profiting from killing babies to threaten Louisiana’s sovereignty, violate Louisiana law, or endanger Louisiana women and babies,” Murrill said.

The three states, Murrill says, have filed legal action in the Western District of Louisiana against 30 individuals and organizations who have been advertising, prescribing, dispensing and shipping abortion drugs directly into Louisiana and other states.

The lawsuit also asks the federal court to declare their actions a public nuisance, seeking injunctive relief, damages, civil penalties, statutory damages, attorneys’ fees and costs.

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