Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against Her Safe Harbor, a Delaware clinic that provides remote women’s reproductive care and medication abortion services.
According to a New York Times article, Debra Lynch, a nurse practitioner who runs Her Safe Harbor, started the service in June 2024.
The civil suit, filed in the state’s District Court of Jefferson County, accuses Lynch of breaking its Human Life Protection Act, “by prescribing and mailing abortion-inducing drugs to Texas residents for the purpose of performing elective abortions.”
The Texas Attorney General’s office sent a cease and desist in August last year that demanded Lynch’s clinic stop, “…mailing abortion-inducing drugs into the State of Texas.”
Following the cease and desist, Lynch told media outlets that Her Safe Harbor did not plan to comply with the demand.
Her Safe Harbor’s website says it “offer(s) safe and discreet abortion treatments,” along with birth control, Hormone Replacement Therapy, and treatment for gynecological infection.
While the suit is pending in court, Paxton’s office wants Her Safe Harbor to stop providing services related to abortion for Texas residents.
Ultimately, Paxton’s suit aims for a permanent stop to any abortion consultation or service Lynch provides in Texas.
The suit also asks that Her Safe Harbor pay fines listed in Texas code for breaking its abortion laws, cover legal fees, and “all other relief that the Court may deem just, proper, or equitable.”
The Texas Attorney General has filed suits against other out-of-state healthcare providers, which have met resistance.
Delaware is one of more than 20 states with a “shield law.” These are state-enacted mandates that protect healthcare providers or patients from out-of-state investigation, extradition, or fines related to abortion rules in other states.
In 2024, Paxton’s office sued New York doctor Margaret Carpenter more $110 thousand, alleging that she sent abortion pills to someone in Texas.
Carpenter did not appear for the hearing in Texas, and the court ruled against her.
A New York court rejected Paxton’s filing to collect fines from Carpenter, citing the state’s shield law.
Delaware’s General Assembly passed a shield law in 2022, sponsored by House Speaker Melissa Minor-Brown. The General Assembly shored-up its shield law last summer with House Bill 205, which protects Delaware clinicians "from out-of-state lawsuits and investigations that threaten the practice of medicine in the State."
The UCLA Williams Institute says Delaware’s shield law protects against out-of-state investigations and prosecutions, professional discipline, and civil liability related to reproductive health care.
Governor Matt Meyer signed an executive order last year expanding upon Delaware's shield laws, adding protections for gender affirming care providers and patients.
Meyer said Delaware supports a woman's right to choose, "and that includes medical providers' right to send abortion pills out and protect women even outside Delaware's borders."
When contacted for comment, Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings's office said it does not legally represent Lynch or Her Safe Harbor. The state of Delaware is not a named defendant in the case. But her office is prepared to defend the state in such matters and enforce its shield law.
Jennings added in a statement that she is grateful for Delaware policymakers, "who anticipated this moment and passed House Bill 455 in 2022. By law, Delaware does not honor anti-abortion interstate subpoenas. We are prepared to make that case in Court."
Delaware Public Media has reached out to Her Safe Harbor for comment.
