Vermont health workers who provide reproductive and gender-affirming care to patients would be shielded from legal threats that originate in other states under a bill lawmakers advanced on Thursday.
The House of Representatives approved the second reading of H.89 by a wide margin, meaning it will soon head to the Senate after a final procedural vote.
Rep. Martin LaLonde (D-South Burlington) noted that since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, several states have passed laws that not only restrict abortions but also put health care workers who provide them elsewhere in legal jeopardy.
“We cannot change the fact that many states have restricted or denied access to such health care,” LaLonde said. “But what we can do with this bill is protect Vermont’s licensed health care providers … from the very real threat that other states pose.”
The bill would protect providers and recipients of reproductive and gender-affirming care from a wide range of potential civil or criminal legal challenges that individuals or prosecutors in other states might try to bring against them.
For instance, if a person in Texas sought to sue a provider in Vermont who provided care to a Texas resident — whether in Vermont or remotely through telehealth — that provider would enjoy a number of needed protections, LaLonde explained.
The bill would block Vermont courts from honoring out-of-state subpoenas, prohibit state employees from cooperating in such investigations, and allow medical providers to countersue and recover damages and fees.
It would also create penalties of up to $300 for people who interfere with access to health care facilities and protect the addresses of workers providing these health care services.
While the bill “will raise new and interesting legal questions,” experts who testified said the law would be constitutional, LaLonde said.
Rep. Taylor Small (P/D-Winooski), the state’s first transgender lawmaker, applauded Vermont for its passage of last year’s constitutional amendment protecting reproductive liberty and its support for “life-saving, gender-affirming care.”
She noted that there have been 88 bills introduced in 25 state legislatures recently that seek to restrict such care and said Vermont must do what it can to prevent those efforts from succeeding.
“Together, we can work toward a world where everyone can live their most fulfilling life without interference or discrimination,” Small said.
The House voted in favor of the bill after rejecting an effort by Republicans to add protections for workers who express “health care rights of conscience” that prevent them from providing such services.
The amendment proposed by Rep. Anne Donahue (R-Northfield) and Rep. Mark Higley (R-Lowell) was ruled not relevant to the bill and never received a vote.
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