The Los Angeles Times is reporting that the U.S. Supreme Court will decide next week whether to take up a case that could severely limit telehealth abortions. It said the case could end medication-only procedures as they are currently known, forcing women into a less-safe regimen with a lower success rate and more complications. The Times said antiabortion advocates are targeting reproductive health sanctuary states, including California, despite earlier conservative support for returning the abortion issue to the states following the 2022 Dobbs decision. It noted that 11 states passed near-total bans on abortions after Dobbs, while others implemented early time limits, leaving many women with no access to in-person care. The publication said the number of U.S. abortions arranged through telehealth and mailed medication has skyrocketed to more than a quarter of all procedures. It said California and other states have passed shield laws to protect doctors and providers who prescribe and send these medications, ensuring they cannot be penalized or extradited to other states for prosecution. The Times said some states with bans are attempting to bypass these protections, noting that Louisiana recently tried to extradite a California doctor.
