In the United States, three states led by Republicans have banned abortion, but their residents are still able to obtain abortion pills from out-of-state medical facilities. These three states have collectively filed a new lawsuit in an attempt to prevent the flow of abortion pills into the hands of their residents.
Last week, Louisiana, Alabama, and Arkansas jointly filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, accusing out-of-state medical service providers of causing a “public nuisance” by mailing abortion pills (primarily mifepristone and other drugs) across state lines.
On the same day, these three states also filed a lawsuit against New York, California, and Massachusetts in the U.S. Supreme Court, alleging that the enactment of “shield laws” in these states protects local abortion service providers from out-of-state prosecution and civil liability, thereby promoting the mailing of abortion pills.
Experts have noted that these two lawsuits are unprecedented attempts to restrict residents’ access to abortion pills under the “public nuisance law,” typically applied in cases of environmental pollution and other public hazards. It marks the first direct challenge by states that ban abortion against state-level abortion protection laws.
Currently, remote medical abortion prescriptions are rapidly increasing under the protection of “shield laws.”
According to the Guttmacher Institute, an institute advocating for abortion rights, in 2025, approximately 91,000 abortions in states with comprehensive bans were done through remote medical practices, a significant increase from 74,000 cases in 2024.
New York Attorney General Letitia James and Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, both Democrats, have released statements accusing Republican-led states of trying to impose abortion bans on other states and punishing doctors providing legal healthcare. California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office has not responded to the matter.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling legalizing abortion nationwide in 2022, nearly half of the states in the U.S. have either banned or severely restricted abortion. Women in these states needing abortions must travel to other states or rely on remote medical prescriptions and mail-order medications, leading to a surge in medication-induced miscarriages.
Data from the Guttmacher Institute shows that medication-induced miscarriages accounted for 65% of total abortions in the U.S. in 2023.
In response, Republican-governed states have filed lawsuits against doctors or pursued criminal charges, particularly challenging the provisions of the 2000 federal approval of the abortion pill mifepristone and subsequent expansion of its use, with these lawsuits still pending.
In May of this year, the Supreme Court rejected Louisiana’s request in one of the lawsuits to temporarily halt nationwide remote prescription and mailing of mifepristone during the case.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has faced criticism from anti-abortion groups for the slow progress of its safety review of abortion pills. The FDA stated in documents submitted to the Supreme Court on Wednesday that it expects to complete the review by March 2027.
(Acknowledgment to Reuters for reference)