New Jersey adds measures to protect out-of-state abortion seekers and the medical providers helping them
With looming ‘state versus state’ battles around abortion, these laws offer protections to medical providers as well
New Jersey is following states such as New York and Connecticut and becoming a “safe haven” for abortion seekers who travel from states where abortion is illegal.
Gov. Phil Murphy signed the bills Friday. “The women of our country can’t wait,” he said in a tweet.
The legislation makes it so state employees can’t spend public resources to aid an out-of-state investigation into someone who sought information or received abortion services in the Garden State.
What’s more, the state won’t extradite health providers who provide abortion services in New Jersey to patients who are coming from states where those services are illegal, nor will they extradite patients. And medical providers will not be denied licensure in New Jersey for providing reproductive health services to patients from other states, so long as the services legally took place within the Garden State.
» READ MORE: How New Jersey’s abortion laws work
In passing these bills, New Jersey becomes the latest in a wave of states firming up abortion protections for those seeking and providing these services. Abortion access was codified into New Jersey law at the start of the year.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, who has vetoed three antiabortion bills passed by the Republican-led General Assembly, has vowed to continue doing so until the end of his term. Wolf has assured out-of-state people they are safe if they travel to the commonwealth for abortions.
New Jersey Assemblywoman Lisa Swain (D., Bergen, Passaic) introduced the Garden State bills in May to strengthen reproductive health protections. But it wasn’t until Roe v. Wade was overturned that the bills were fast-tracked.
“To protect all people who want to make their reproductive choices, we wanted to make sure they felt welcome in New Jersey, and that they knew that they could come here to make those very important choices that they can’t make in their home state anymore,” she said.
The legislation passed as New Jersey and Pennsylvania abortion providers brace themselves for a surge in out-of-state patients seeking services with more than half the states in the country poised to ban or severely restrict access.
These bills also serve to alleviate uncertainty as national antiabortion groups work with Republican legislators to ban patients from traveling when seeking abortions.
“The fundamental right to privacy that was part of the original Roe decision is still relevant today, and is also integral to these new laws that will offer basic protection for those seeking and those administering reproductive health care in New Jersey,” said Sen. Nellie Pou (D., Passaic, Bergen), one of the Senate sponsors.
One antiabortion method expected to gain popularity is allowing civilians to file civil lawsuits against abortion providers. Laws like New Jersey’s would prohibit state employees and officers from cooperating with out-of-state investigations seeking to impose criminal or civil liability.
David S. Cohen, professor at the Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law, said bills like New Jersey’s and executive orders passed by governors in states including Massachusetts and Minnesota offer real protections in the coming “state-vs.-state conflicts that we have not seen in a long time.”
“The New Jersey bill and the other laws say, ‘We’re going to try and make it so it’s hard for you to even try to wrap our providers into this mess … because we’re not going to participate and we’re not going to order our people to participate,’” said Cohen.
Staff graphics editor John Duchneskie contributed to this report.