Will Abortion-Seekers Be Trapped Behind State Lines?

Protest following Roe v Wade decision. Photo via Guardian

Several national antiabortion groups and their allies in Republican-led state legislatures are advancing plans to stop people in states where abortion is banned from seeking the procedure elsewhere, reports the Washington Post.

The Thomas More Society, a conservative legal organization, is drafting model legislation for state lawmakers that would allow private citizens to sue anyone who helps a resident of a state that has banned abortion from terminating a pregnancy outside of that state.

Meanwhile, the National Association of Christian Lawmakers, an antiabortion organization led by Republican state legislators, has begun working with the authors of the Texas abortion ban to explore model legislation that would restrict people from crossing state lines for abortions.

These kinds of bills could be proposed even before state legislatures reconvene for their regular 2023 legislative sessions, say experts, but several Democrat-led states have already passed legislation this year to counteract laws that try to restrict movement across state lines.

The Justice Department has already signaled its intention to fight against these kinds of laws in court, saying they violate the right to interstate commerce.

Democrat-led states have already passed legislation this year to counteract laws that try to restrict movement across state lines, while the DOJ says they violate the right to interstate commerce.