from States Newsroom
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By Elisha Brown |
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill speaks at a news conference on Sept. 30, 2026, announcing a lawsuit challenging abortion shield laws in Democratic-led states. Joining Murrill were Attorneys General Steve Marshall of Alabama, left, and Tim Griffin of Arkansas, whose states are also plaintiffs in the case. (Photo by Piper Hutchinson/Louisiana Illuminator)
A trio of Republican attorneys general are escalating their war against abortion providers and reproductive health shield laws in Democratic-led states.
Stateline’s Kelcie Moseley-Morris has the story:
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill and attorneys general in Arkansas and Alabama filed a lawsuit Tuesday in the U.S. Supreme Court, suing California, Massachusetts and New York to invalidate the so-called “shield laws” that have allowed providers in those states to send abortion medication to people in states with abortion bans.
The state officials, all Republicans, also filed a lawsuit in federal district court against individual abortion providers in the same three states.
“We will not allow activist states, activist providers or distributors profiting from killing babies to threaten Louisiana’s sovereignty, violate Louisiana’s laws and endanger Louisiana women and Louisiana babies,” Murrill said at a news conference on Tuesday. Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin and Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall also were present.
The lawsuit, filed in the Western District of Louisiana, seeks to stop the individual providers named from being able to prescribe and send abortion medication to Alabama, Arkansas and Louisiana, while the Supreme Court complaint asks the justices to find the shield laws are a constitutional violation of state sovereignty.
“Today, plaintiff states filed a lawsuit against as many organizations and individuals as they have been able to identify notwithstanding the shield laws intended to thwart such litigation,” the Supreme Court complaint reads. “To fully obtain relief, however, they must also eliminate other contributing causes for the harm that they are suffering, including … the shield laws.”
The district court suit names 30 defendants, including the Massachusetts Medication Abortion Access Project and its founder, Dr. Angel Foster, Dr. Remy Coeytaux in California and other telehealth providers around the country.
The complaint compares the mailing of abortion medication to anthrax, mail bombs and chemical weapons, despite studies since 2000 showing that abortion medication is safe and effective to use.
THE POD
Next on our Stories From The States podcast: Democrats show promise in gaining congressional control
Despite a hard push by Republicans to bolster their chances of retaining control in Washington by redrawing congressional districts to the party’s advantage, Democrats are in a good position to take control of the U.S. House in November.
And which party controls the U.S. Senate after January is now a true toss-up, according to The Cook Political Report. Historically, the party that's out of power picks up seats in the midterm cycle.
THE BEAT
Anti-abortion groups worry Hyde Amendment’s 50-year run could end with new congressional majority
Volunteer clinic escorts stand in a line before a kneeling anti-abortion demonstrator at a clinic in Louisville, Ky., in 2021. Advocates from each side of the abortion issue have pushed for Congress to either codify the Hyde Amendment into law or codify its repeal, but neither side has been successful. (Photo by Jon Cherry/Getty Images)
In the early months of 2022, Democrats in Congress came close to passing an appropriations bill that did not include a provision barring federal funding for abortions — maybe the closest it had ever come in more than 40 years.
But those who wanted the Hyde Amendment included won the battle in the end. Three months later, the U.S. Supreme Court made its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization to allow states to regulate abortion access. That year, the 50-year precedent of a constitutional right to abortion ended, and the 50-year precedent of no federal tax funding to pay for abortions endures.
The Hyde Amendment was first passed Sept. 30, 1976, three years after the Roe v. Wade decision. The clause — which isn’t a constitutional amendment — is named for Republican U.S. Rep. Henry Hyde of Illinois. It marked one of the first legislative victories for anti-abortion groups after Roe guaranteed abortion access up to fetal viability.
In the decades since, it has been added to every appropriations bill passed by Congress, restricting federal Medicaid dollars from paying for abortion care except in limited cases of rape, incest and to prevent a pregnant patient’s death. The result has left countless people without a way to pay for the procedure, which advocates for abortion access say causes more abortions to happen later in pregnancy and unnecessarily endangers patients’ health.
Abortion opponents say the Hyde Amendment has prevented 2.7 million abortions. An estimated 300,000 abortions per year were covered by federal dollars prior to the Hyde Amendment. While there aren’t any major organizations that have published how much the federal government has saved by not funding abortion care, advocates say it costs the government more not to fund it because of the extra costs added to medical care and public assistance programs.
As more polls and strategists indicate Democrats could take over congressional majorities in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate in January, some anti-abortion advocates fear such a change could be the most serious threat to Hyde’s future since the party nearly repealed the amendment in 2022.
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THE PULSE
CA: Abortion pills to be offered at California community college health centers under new law | Cal Matters
AR: Arkansas judge weighing future of lawsuit challenging state’s abortion ban | Arkansas Advocate
ABORTION ACCESS IN THE U.S.
Track state-level developments on reproductive rights anytime at News From The States. Send tips and thoughts to ✉️ [email protected], and follow her on Bluesky @elishabrown.
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