WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congressman Andrew Clyde (GA-09) introduced the D.C. Shield Law Repeal Act to nullify Washington, D.C.’s dangerous interstate shield law, the Human Rights Sanctuary Amendment Act of 2022, in order to hold D.C. providers accountable for undermining states’ pro-life and pro-child laws. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced companion legislation in the Senate. 

“Both abortion and cross gender hormone drugs have serious, irreversible consequences,” said Clyde. “We cannot allow the Left’s woke ideology, under the guise of ‘bodily autonomy,’ to infiltrate our states through the shipping of these drugs with zero legal repercussions. Congress must use its constitutional authority over our nation’s capital to hold D.C. providers liable for undermining state laws and to protect women, children, and the unborn.”

“Our nation’s capital should not be a refuge for people who take the lives of children or wreck their bodies with illegal drugs” said Lee. “Criminals on the lam can escape to DC after performing abortions in states where they are illegal, because they know DC will let them get away with it. This bill will repeal DC’s safe harbor for illegal abortionists and peddlers of drugs for transexual procedures, restoring the rule of law to Washington.”

Bill text of the D.C. Shield Law Repeal Act is available HERE.

Read the Daily Caller’s exclusive on the legislation HERE. 

Original co-sponsors include (25): Reps. Sheri Biggs (SC-03), Mike Bost (IL-12), Tim Burchett (TN-02), Jeff Crank (CO-05), Michael Cloud (TX-27), Randy Feenstra (IA-04), Russ Fulcher (ID-01), Brandon Gill (TX-26), Paul Gosar (AZ-09), Michael Guest (MS-03), Harriet Hageman (WY-At-Large), Diana Harshbarger (TN-01), Pat Harrigan (NC-10), Mark Harris (NC-08), Andy Harris (MD-01), Clay Higgins (LA-03), Doug LaMalfa (CA-01), Barry Loudermilk (GA-11), Mark Messmer (IN-08), Mary Miller (IL-15), Barry Moore (AL-01), Riley Moore (WV-02), Ralph Norman (SC-05), John Rose (TN-06), and Marlin Stutzman (IN-03).

“Shield laws fly in the face of constitutional legality and basic morality,” said Rep. Stutzman. “D.C. providers prescribing chemical abortion pills and transgender therapy should not be protected from interstate investigations especially since the door is wide open for them to provide some of these drugs to minors. I am proud to cosponsor Congressman Clyde’s bill which will end this madness immediately.”

The D.C Shield Law Repeal Act is supported by the following organizations: Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), Concerned Women for America (CWA), Family Research Council (FRC), and Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America (SBA).

“We are grateful to Rep. Andrew Clyde for introducing this bill to repeal the so-called shield laws in Washington, D.C. These unconstitutional ‘shield laws’ open the door for the illegal and illicit flow of dangerous abortion drugs into prolife states, harm women and their unborn children, and protect abortion drug traffickers from legal liability. We commend Rep. Clyde for his leadership to repeal these pernicious laws that undermine the unalienable right to life,” said Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Matt Sharp.

“Shield laws are an evil loophole created for abortion providers to free themselves from accountability. Not only do these harmful laws undermine state law, they leave women and children helpless and alone with dangerous drugs and no protections. Representative Clyde’s D.C. Shield Law Repeal Act is a necessary step to hold abortion providers accountable for protecting women and children,” said Penny Nance, CEO and President, Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee.

 “FRC is grateful to Rep. Clyde and Sen. Lee for introducing the D.C. Shield Law Repeal Act. Those who harm women and children via abortion or gender transition procedures should not be shielded from the repercussions of violating the law. This bill puts the victims first and helps ensure they can get justice. Washington, D.C. cannot be allowed to shield abortionists and ‘gender transition’ providers from being investigated and, if necessary, prosecuted for trafficking dangerous drugs in violation of state laws. Eleven percent of users experience serious complications, such as hemorrhage and life-threatening infections, after taking the abortion pill. If a woman in a pro-life state receives drugs that will kill her child from D.C. via the mail, the abortionist must be held accountable. If a young person in a pro-family state receives cross-sex hormones or puberty blockers, which can cause blood clots, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, destabilization of certain psychiatric disorders, sterilization, and more, from D.C. via the mail, the provider must be held accountable. D.C. does not have a right to override state laws. States have a right to protect their citizens, and victims must be protected.” said FRC’s Director of Federal Affairs MaryBeth Waddell.

“So-called Shield laws protect abortionists, not women. DC's shield law gives broad immunity to abortionists, shielding them from criminal, civil, and professional consequences even when they violate other state pro-life laws. This includes allowing DC abortionists to prescribe and ship dangerous abortion drugs to people living in pro-life states where they are not licensed. Thank you, Rep. Clyde, for working to protect babies and their mothers by introducing the D.C. Shield Law Repeal Act to repeal this extremely reckless law,” said Marilyn Musgrave, Vice President of Government Affairs, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.

“Our forefathers fought arduously to bring to life the Declaration of Independence and the 14th amendment in order to promise that any state should not deprive any person of life and liberty without due process- nor deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the law. There’s no asterisk that declares a person must be in a special location, certain age, race or ethnicity for this to be their birthright. To be able to deny children access to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is declaring the fight from our forefathers null and void. Life begins with the right to exist. Repealing shield law will just be the beginning of providing accountability to those who are trying to take away fundamental rights set forth by our United States government. Our center has seen first-hand the impact shield laws weaponization has had to deny life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These laws strip women and families of the ability to make informed decisions regarding each one of these founding principles,” said Beth Thomason, Director of Operations for Choices Pregnancy Center Rabun County.

Background

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, liberal states have drafted “shield laws” for abortion providers who perform abortions or prescribe abortion medication and cross gender hormone drugs to individuals in states where these actions are now prohibited. Each law varies slightly, but they all ultimately seek to allow the shield state to refuse to comply with another state's investigation or penalization of a provider. Currently, 22 states and Washington, D.C. have similar laws.

In 2022, the D.C. Council introduced the Human Rights Sanctuary Amendment Act to protect individuals and providers in Washington, D.C. from being held legally accountable in other states for engaging in or providing abortions and cross gender hormone drugs. Specifically, the measure prohibits D.C. officials from cooperating with out-of-state investigations or legal actions targeting these activities and allows individuals, including providers, to sue for damages if they are targeted by such out-of-state lawsuits. Additionally, it requires that any out-of-state subpoena seeking information or testimony must include a sworn statement confirming it is not related to these protected “bodily autonomy” activities before it can be enforced in D.C. The bill became law in 2023, serving as D.C.’s interstate shield law. 

Rep. Clyde’s D.C. Shield Law Repeal Act repeals the radical D.C. Council’s Human Rights Sanctuary Amendment Act in order to protect women, children, and the unborn by delivering commonsense accountability to D.C. providers that undermine states with pro-life and anti-“gender affirming” laws, such as Georgia.

In fact, D.C.’s shield law has directly impacted Rep. Clyde’s rural District in Northeast Georgia. In 2024, a volunteer for a crisis pregnancy center obtained mifepristone via mail, despite the online request being in clear violation of Georgia law. The dangerous pills came in a plain brown envelope, postmarked from Washington, D.C. The effort was meant to showcase the radical, unlawful, and widespread access to abortion drugs. Yet if these pills had harmed one of Rep. Clyde’s constituents, the provider could not be held legally responsible due to D.C.’s shield law.

Article 1, Section 8, Clause 17 of the Constitution grants Congress exclusive legislative authority to manage Washington, D.C.’s affairs.