California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Vermont and Washington have passed laws to also protect telehealth actions when the provider prescribes abortion pills to a patient who is in an antiabortion state.
[1] These shield laws have been enacted after the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade with Dobbs in June 2022.
[10] From 18 June 2023 Aid Access mailed medication to patients throughout the US with providers licensed in the five states with telemedicine provisions, with no need to ship from other countries as had been necessary before.
[17] In December 2024 Texas sued a New York doctor for allegedly prescribing abortion pills to a 20-year-old Dallas-area woman.
[21][22][23] Shield laws, in general, have complicated legal issues surrounding them, primarily because they deal with interstate relations.
There has also been scholarly discussion as whether abortion shield laws—particularly those prohibiting the enforcement of judgements or injunctions (provisions designed to hobble the Texas Heartbeat Act and its progeny) arising from laws limiting abortion access—would withstand constitutional challenges claiming such laws are in violation of the Full Faith and Credit Clause.
As of Feb 2024, governors have issued executive orders in 12 states: California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Washington.