California Bill Would Prohibit Texas Abortion Ban From Being Enforced In California

The California Assembly passed a bill Monday that would prevent the state from punishing people who are against abortion in other states.

The law is a direct response to the Texas abortion ban, which can be filed in other states besides Texas, and which has already been copied.

The Texas law requiring civil lawsuits against people who have an abortion is against the public policy of the state, according to the California bill.

The California bill, which passed Monday in a 56-16 vote, would prohibit the state from prosecuting people under the anti- abortion laws.

Connecticut enacted a law that gives legal protections against other states, such as blocking the state from issuing subpoenas based on other states' abortion laws, and extraditing people to other states if they have violated their abortion bans.

The law in Connecticut allows people who have been prosecuted in other states for aiding or abetting an abortion to seek damages.

Washington has enacted a law that says the state cannot take adverse action against anyone who gets an abortion.

The bill needs to be passed by the state Senate and signed by the governor, who supports abortion rights. Similar bills could be passed in other states. Legislation has been introduced in New York that would prevent law enforcement from cooperating with other states in investigations into violations of abortion laws, and New Jersey is considering a bill that would prevent people from being extradited to other states.

What We Don’t Know

There will be a clash between state abortion laws. Critics of the California bill argue that it would violate the Constitution's full faith and credit clause, which requires states to recognize other states' policies. The Supreme Court has previously ruled that the clause doesn't require states tosubstitute the statutes because the abortion bans go against the public policy of the state. Legal experts say it's hard to predict how things will play out if states that ban abortion try and prosecute residents who get abortions in other states.

Key Background

California's bill is part of a trend of Democratic-led states stepping up efforts to protect abortion rights in the face of Texas' abortion ban and the Supreme Court's likely decision to overturn it. The court's final opinion won't be released until June, but a leaked draft shows a majority of justices wanted to strike down the abortion law as of February. The state leaders plan to put a measure on the ballot in November asking voters if abortion rights should be included in the state's constitution. New York, Oregon, Colorado and New Jersey have enacted laws codifying abortion rights.

California lawmakers are blocking abortion laws in Texas.

The next frontier is abortion travel bans.

Washington enacted a law blocking Texas-style abortion ban.

The New York Times reported that Connecticut was moving to reduce the impact of anti-Abortion laws.

There may be new legal fights between states if federal abortion-rights protections are removed.