States can fight back
Did you know a Louisiana state law is being used to try to end access to abortion pills by mail — not just in Louisiana, but every state, including yours?
The Dobbs decision handed state lawmakers the power to decide if and when citizens can access abortion care. As a result, 13 states have banned the procedure completely. But abortion pills can be legally mailed, and in 2025, providers sent medication to 91,000 people living in states with total abortion bans.
Lawmakers in states with total bans immediately started attempting to use their power to reach beyond their own borders — to restrict access for people in states where abortion is fully legal. Louisiana’s lawsuit is the clearest example yet: One state is looking to use its restrictive policy to end our rights everywhere.
The fact that this is a real possibility shows how powerful state legislatures are. But state lawmakers can also wield their power to protect both patients seeking safe, legal abortion care and the medical professionals providing it.
For example, a new policy enacted in Oregon earlier this year protects doctors and nurses who provide abortion care from prosecution, blocks cooperation with out-of-state investigations, and prevents providers from being extradited to states that want to prosecute them for care that is legal in Oregon.
This is yet another example that who holds governing power in your state legislature has never mattered more—and why building majority power in state legislatures is so crucial. In some states, a couple hundred votes will decide races that can impact millions of lives. Fuel our work in the states.
