New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced that she is intervening to block the Texas attorney general’s attempts to use New York courts to enforce Texas’s abortion bans. The Texas attorney general is suing a New York county clerk after his office was blocked from filing papers to collect a $113,000 judgment against a New York doctor who provided safe, legal telehealth abortion care. His lawsuit challenges New York’s shield law, which protects providers and patients by preventing state and local officials from helping out-of-state prosecutions for abortion or gender-affirming care. Today, Attorney General James formally intervened in the lawsuit to defend the constitutionality of the shield law and ensure out-of-state extremists cannot use New York’s courts to advance their anti-abortion agenda.

“I am stepping in to defend the integrity of our laws and our courts against this blatant overreach,” said Attorney General James. “Texas has no authority in New York, and no power to impose its cruel abortion ban here. Our shield law exists to protect New Yorkers from out-of-state extremists, and New York will always stand strong as a safe haven for health care and freedom of choice. I will fight every last attempt to roll back our rights and turn back the clock on reproductive freedom.”