December 22, 2023
There’s a large scale effort underway across the nation to both expand abortion and defend the rights of the preborn in blue states and red states alike. Lawsuits are being filed constantly heading into 2024, and no less than 12 states are starting down signature gathering campaigns or ballot initiatives that will seek to enshrine abortion in state laws or constitutions. The abortion industrial complex is pouring tons of money, volunteers, and influence into these offensive campaigns.
READ: Abortion IS on the Ballot: The Top Pro-Life Ballot Initiatives for 2024
However, in blue states, a two-sided offensive and defensive battle is being waged, as well. According to the rabidly pro-abortion Center for Reproductive Rights: “States hostile to abortion have made it clear that they want to prohibit abortion entirely, both inside and outside of their borders. Interstate shield laws protect abortion providers and helpers in states where abortion is protected and accessible from civil and criminal consequences stemming from abortion care provided to an out-of-state resident.”
In essence, in-state shield laws are designed to circumvent existing laws in other states where abortion is illegal.
For example, if there’s an abortion in California, and a woman from Texas came to California seeking an abortion, the abortionist would be prosecuted in Texas for killing her preborn child… unless California protected the abortion vendor with a shield law.
Another example would be if a corporation based in Washington offered abortion coverage through their company medical plan with an office located in Florida or West Virginia. The shield laws in Washington would protect that corporation from lawsuits by either of these states if there were violations of their state abortion laws.
Long term, shield laws could also result in lawsuits against pregnancy resource centers and any other entity which advocates against abortion or outright refuses to commit them. This could also be wielded against corporations, ensuring that all companies within the borders of states with little to no restrictions on abortion are forced to comply with their pro-abortion stance.
In essence, state laws can be wielded like political cudgels, creating an inter-state Cold War and lawfare arms race.
This has already begun in some ways – it’s taken form in the state of Michigan, where health insurance premiums are at risk of funding abortion, whether people are morally opposed to them or not.
READ: Michigan Apparently Doesn’t Care About Your Right to Conscientious Objection
Likewise in California, though not related to abortion, Governor Gavin Newsom has authorized residents of California to engage in private lawsuits over gun related crimes: “If Texas is going to use this legal framework to essentially outlaw abortion and harm women, all with the Supreme Court’s blessing, California is going to use it to save lives and take AR-15s off our streets,” said State Senator Robert Hertzberg, a Democrat who co-authored the bill.”
As recently as October 2023, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell also announced the formation of a “Reproductive Justice Unit”: “The Unit will focus on ensuring that Massachusetts is a national leader on reproductive justice by expanding and protecting access to reproductive and gender affirming care, addressing disparities in maternal health, tackling misinformation and disinformation that prevents access to care, working across state lines to respond to national attacks on reproductive health care, and championing and defending Massachusetts’ strong legal protections for reproductive rights.”
Notice the key phrasing: working across state lines to respond to national attacks. Why would an agency based in Massachusetts, under the purview of the Massachusetts Attorney General (a position elected solely by the residents of Massachusetts) need that kind of power? Additionally, is that kind of power constitutional?
It’s about punishing dissent, not protecting women. It never has been – which is why the pro-abortion Democrats have been so nakedly transparent about their intentions in the post-Roe world. “Safe, legal, and rare” has given way to “without restriction, without apology, and on the taxpayers dime.”
READ: Of Course the Democrats Hated Roe – It Didn’t Go Far Enough
Eventually, these kinds of escalations will come to a head, and the United States Supreme Court will likely need to get involved. It wouldn’t be the first time it’s gone this route; and if these increasingly aggressive tactics and shield laws are any indication, it won’t be the last.