Attorney General Charity Clark has joined a group of 20 attorneys general in submitting an amicus brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. The brief challenges a Tennessee law that criminalizes assisting minors in seeking abortion care outside the state, which has largely banned abortion except in cases where the mother's life is at risk.
The coalition argues that Tennessee's law poses a risk to minors' health by limiting access to out-of-state reproductive health services. They also contend that it interferes with healthcare providers and residents in other states who wish to aid these minors in accessing abortion services legally permitted elsewhere. The brief emphasizes that states should not block individuals from obtaining legal abortion care in different states or from sharing related information.
The attorneys general are asking the court to uphold a lower court's decision that enjoined portions of the Tennessee legislation. They point out that the state's restrictive abortion laws, some of the toughest in the nation, have compelled many Tennessee residents to seek medical care in other states.
The attorneys general who joined Clark include representatives from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington.