Advocates for LGBTQ+ rights and women’s reproductive healthcare are urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign the Shield Act 2.0 into law.
The legislation builds on existing law, adding additional legal protections for patients and healthcare providers seeking or performing abortions and gender-affirming care.
That includes protection from lawsuits, criminal charges and professional sanctions brought from out of state in the wake of the 2022 Supreme Court decision overturning of Roe v. Wade.
There remain “significant gaps” in the protections already enacted, Shay Herbert, an organizer with the New York Civil Liberties Union, said during a news conference in Rochester on Monday.
Since 2022, there have been several cases involving states bringing criminal charges against a New York doctor for providing abortion care to women out of state — including from Texas and Louisiana.
The bill aims to address outside attempts to investigate, prosecute and punish New Yorkers by adding protections from out-of-state subpoenas, and granting the state attorney general permission to sue other states and the federal government on the patient or provider’s behalf.
Democratic Assemblymember Harry Bronson sponsored the bill.
“If a case is brought here in New York and it involves health care provided here in New York, New York state laws will prevail,” Bronson said.
The Shield 2.0 bill passed both houses in the state Legislature this spring.
