Safeguard patients and providers

Safeguard patients and providers by passing “shield” laws and issuing Executive Orders to protect patients, providers, and their data from efforts to criminalize access to reproductive healthcare.
Healey-Driscoll Administration Adopts Emergency Regulations Protecting Reproductive Health Care
  • Massachusetts
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  • Massachusetts
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    Healey-Driscoll Administration Adopts Emergency Regulations Protecting Reproductive Health Care

    The Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s (DPH) Board of Registration in Nursing approved emergency amendments to regulations that will protect nurses from disqualification from licensure and from Board discipline for providing, or assisting in providing, reproductive health care services in Massachusetts.
    The Reproductive Health and Access to Care Act
  • Oregon
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  • Oregon
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    The Reproductive Health and Access to Care Act

    This comprehensive public law expands access to reproductive health and gender-affirming care and establishes protections for those seeking and those providing this care by codifying abortion rights, protecting providers and patients, and expanding access to reproductive health care.
    2022 Six-Bill Legislative Package to Protect Abortion and Reproductive Rights for All
  • New York
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  • New York
    •  July 22, 2024

    2022 Six-Bill Legislative Package to Protect Abortion and Reproductive Rights for All

    Governor Hochul signed into law a package of six bills to immediately protect the rights of patients and empower reproductive healthcare providers in anticipation of a final decision by the Supreme Court on abortion access. The laws take specific actions to address a variety of legal concerns, including the establishment of a cause of action for unlawful interference with protected rights and the inclusion of abortion providers and patients in the Address Confidentiality Program. The laws also prohibit misconduct charges against healthcare practitioners for providing reproductive services to patients who reside in states where such services are illegal and disallow medical malpractice insurance companies from taking adverse action against an abortion provider who provides legal care.
    Chapter 138 of the Laws of 2023
  • New York
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  • New York
    •  July 22, 2024

    Chapter 138 of the Laws of 2023

    Senate Bill 1066B strengthens access to reproductive health care and protects patients who seek, and doctors who provide, abortion care through telehealth services. This law further ensures doctors, medical providers, and facilitators in the state are able to provide telehealth services to patients outside of New York without fear of litigation in states where abortion services are outlawed or restricted.
    Expanded Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act
  • Michigan
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  • Michigan
    •  July 22, 2024

    Expanded Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act

    In May 2023, Governor Whitmer expanded the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, which previously only protected individuals against employment discrimination if the abortion was to “save the life of the mother.” This new public law extends those protections to anyone who terminates a pregnancy, regardless of reasoning.
    House Bill 1340
  • Washington
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  • Washington
    •  July 20, 2024

    House Bill 1340

    This public law protects health providers from being disciplined or having their licenses revoked for providing legal reproductive health services or gender-affirming care in Washington. Under this law, any provider punished under another state’s laws will not have their license denied in Washington as long as the service was lawfully provided in the state.
    House Bill 1469
  • Washington
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  • Washington
    •  July 20, 2024

    House Bill 1469

    This shield law prohibits compliance with out-of-state subpoenas related to abortion and gender-affirming care services; prevents cooperation with out-of-state investigations; bans extraditions related to abortion and gender-affirming care services that occur legally in Washington; and protects providers from harassment for providing these services.
    Letter to the Board of Medical Examiners, the Board of Nursing, the Board of Pharmacy, the Physician Assistant Advisory Committee, and the Midwifery Liaison Committee
  • New Jersey
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  • New Jersey
    •  July 20, 2024

    Letter to the Board of Medical Examiners, the Board of Nursing, the Board of Pharmacy, the Physician Assistant Advisory Committee, and the Midwifery Liaison Committee

    Attorney General Platkin issued a letter to the Board of Medical Examiners, the Board of Nursing, the Board of Pharmacy, the Physician Assistant Advisory Committee, and the Midwifery Liaison Committee, clarifying that, under New Jersey law, professional licensing boards are now prohibited from disciplining a licensee or denying an application for licensure based solely on the fact that the licensee or applicant provided abortion care; state entities are prohibited from cooperating with interstate investigations or proceedings that seek to impose civil or criminal liability on a person or entity for, among other things, seeking, receiving, providing, assisting with the provision of, or responding to inquiries about reproductive care; and protections apply not only licensees who provide abortion care directly, but also those who authorize, participate in, refer for, or assist with any health care, medical service, or procedure that is related to an abortion.
    Reproductive Rights Strike Force: Guidance to Health Care Providers
  • New Jersey
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  • New Jersey
    •  July 20, 2024

    Reproductive Rights Strike Force: Guidance to Health Care Providers

    The Murphy Administration, via the Division of Consumer Affairs, sent a guidance document for health care providers and other health care licensees that provides information on how providers can best secure patient data and protect the privacy of individuals seeking or receiving abortion services.