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'Drug-dealing' network shielded by blue states targeted in SCOTUS challenge

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Cite

Mallon, E. (2026, September 30). 'Drug-dealing' network shielded by blue states targeted in SCOTUS challenge. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/drug-dealing-network-shielded-blue-states-targeted-scotus-challenge

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Fox News · collected 2026-09-30 · by Elaine Mallon

Quick Summary

Louisiana Republican Attorney General Liz Murrill, along with her counterparts from Alabama and Arkansas, has filed two lawsuits against California, New York, and Massachusetts at the Supreme Court to challenge shield laws that protect individuals involved in distributing abortion pills. These blue states' shield laws prevent cooperation with investigations into those providing or facilitating access to abortion pills in states where such practices are illegal. Murrill also separately sued more than 30 people and organizations accused of advertising or shipping abortion drugs into their states, describing these actions as "drug dealing." The conflict stems from the Supreme Court's 2022 ruling that allowed states to set their own abortion policies, leading to increased legal battles between red and blue states.
Written by AI on 2026-09-30, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Louisiana, Alabama, and Arkansas attorneys general are challenging abortion-pill distribution laws in blue states like California, New York, and Massachusetts at the Supreme Court. Louisiana's Republican Attorney General, Liz Murrill, claims these blue-state shield laws block cooperation with investigations into those accused of distributing abortion pills to states that ban abortions. The lawsuit alleges that such shield laws violate the US Constitution’s Full Faith and Credit Clause by interfering with other states' legal processes. Additionally, a separate lawsuit filed in Louisiana targets over 30 individuals and organizations accused of advertising or shipping abortion pills into these conservative states. Murrill asserts this is illegal drug dealing and emphasizes her commitment to enforcing state laws despite the blue-state protections.

Written for “Abortion Lawsuits” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Abortion Lawsuits
Politics · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 3% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Mother Jones
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 1 of 41 claims Outlet record 60/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
35
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
3%
1 of 35 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
69/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-30 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 6363 article(s) · 11 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 11 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Elaine Mallon
42 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Sen. Elissa Slotkin's warning to young Americans not to join the Trump administration could backfire by handing Trump officials legal ammunition to derail the investigations Democrats hope to launch if they retake Congress, a former federal prosecutor warned.
🔮 Michael Heyman announced at a Friday press conference that the Justice Department has been investigating whether Daniel J. Sullivan, a retired school teacher who will appear on the ballot without a party affiliation, was colluding with Democratic operatives tied to Democratic candidate Mary Peltola's campaign.
🔮 "But there are a lot of cases that seem to be going to judges maybe based on those cases having similarities which is not what the local rules say," Wessan told Fox News Digital.
🔮 However, the appeals court ruled that the lower court's preliminary injunction could not be enforced, finding that the immigration law firm Red Eagle, which represents individuals going through the visa lottery process, did not have standing to sue the federal government.
🔮 "This would have never happened if we didn't have ranked-choice voting," Dunleavy told Fox News Digital.
🔮 U.S. District Judge Ada Brown of the Northern District of Texas, who is Black and Native American, was temporarily removed from her docket by the Fifth Circuit Judicial Council earlier this month, following a May judicial-conduct complaint filed by attorney Ezra Young, whose permission to practice before Brown had previously been revoked.
🔮 And one of its leaders is warning that young professionals could face reputational damage and steep legal bills.
🔮 The Justice Department argued that releasing the information could compromise the integrity of the investigation.
🔮 The ruling comes as the Supreme Court prepares to hear Rhoney v. Barbosa da Cunha this term, a closely related fight over whether the federal mandatory-detention statute applies at all to longtime immigrants arrested inside the country — setting up the possibility that the justices could either undercut Friday’s ruling or strengthen the government's hand.
🔮 The twin rulings come as the Supreme Court prepares to hear oral arguments in Viramontes v. Cook County, a case that could determine whether AR-15-style rifles qualify as "arms" protected by the Second Amendment.
Also by Elaine Mallon
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 42 articles by Elaine Mallon →

Topics

California Fox News Digital Louisiana New York Supreme Court

Subjects

Louisiana GPE · 10× Murrill PERSON · 10× California GPE · 7× New York GPE · 5× Democratic NORP · 2× Fox News Digital ORG · 2× Newsom PERSON · 2× Supreme Court ORG · 2× Liz Murrill PERSON · 1× Republican NORP · 1×

Narrative

Louisiana Republican Attorney General Liz Murrill is escalating her fight against abortion pills entering states that ban abortions through two lawsuits — one targeting the providers accused of distributing the drugs and another challenging the blue-state laws shielding them from prosecution.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-30
🔮 The Supreme Court complaint cited Louisiana's unsuccessful effort to extradite Carpenter, saying Hochul declared there was "no way in hell" she would comply with Louisiana's request.

Claims (35 extracted, 1 hedged)

Louisiana Republican Attorney General Liz Murrill is escalating her fight against abortion pills entering states that ban abortions through two lawsuits — one targeting the providers accused of distributing the drugs and another challenging the blue-state laws shielding them from prosecution. asserted
that → escalate → prosecution
Murrill, along with Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall and Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin, sued New York, California and Massachusetts at the Supreme Court on Wednesday, alleging their shield laws block cooperation with investigations into abortion-pill providers. asserted
laws → sue → providers
The attorneys general also filed a separate lawsuit in Louisiana against more than 30 people and organizations accused of advertising, prescribing, dispensing or shipping abortion pills into their states. asserted
general → file → states
"This is drug dealing and it's illegal," Murrill told Fox News Digital. asserted
Murrill → tell → Digital
"And we're going to continue to do everything that we can to enforce the laws in our states." asserted
we → go → states
The two lawsuits, filed Wednesday, are the latest move in a widening state-by-state fight over abortion. asserted
lawsuits → file → abortion
That conflict has grown since the Supreme Court's 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which struck down Roe v. Wade and gave elected officials the power to set abortion policy in their states. asserted
which → grow → states
Murrill said the Supreme Court case targets the blue states' legal protections that have thwarted Louisiana's previous efforts to prosecute out-of-state doctors. asserted
that → say → doctors
"These shield laws are very comprehensive," Murrill said, arguing that California and New York prohibit officials from assisting other states seeking to enforce judgments stemming from abortion-related conduct. asserted
California → say → conduct
Louisiana has already indicted New York physician Margaret Carpenter and California physician Remy Coeytaux over allegations that they prescribed abortion drugs that were sent into Louisiana. asserted
that → indict → Louisiana
New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom have refused to extradite the doctors. asserted
Hochul → refuse → doctors
The Supreme Court complaint cited Louisiana's unsuccessful effort to extradite Carpenter, saying Hochul declared there was "no way in hell" she would comply with Louisiana's request. asserted
she → cite → request
The filing said New York later strengthened its shield law, including by allowing prescribers of abortion drugs to keep their names off prescription labels. asserted
prescribers → say → labels
Newsom similarly rejected Louisiana's request to extradite Coeytaux in January, saying California would not help other states punish doctors for providing abortion access that is legal in California. asserted
that → reject → California
When Murrill vowed to sue, Newsom responded on X telling her to "Go f*** yourself. asserted
Newsom → vow → yourself
California will never help you criminalize healthcare. asserted
you → help → healthcare
" "I think that if I sent guns into their states illegally, they would certainly try to come after me," Murrill told Fox News Digital. asserted
Murrill → think → Digital
"I said specifically at the time that we would be coming for them and we are. asserted
we → say → them
"We are going to take down those laws using every tool that we have at our disposal," she continued. asserted
she → go → disposal
The second lawsuit directly targets what Murrill calls the "pill pipeline." asserted
Murrill → target → what
The 100-page complaint alleges providers used online questionnaires to obtain information from customers before abortion drugs were mailed into states where their distribution is prohibited. asserted
distribution → allege → states
The states allege some organizations openly acknowledged that their conduct violated those states' laws while relying on shield laws to protect themselves from legal consequences. asserted
conduct → allege → consequences
Murrill said investigators have conducted controlled purchases and received pills packaged in small bags, sometimes in quantities she said exceeded what would ordinarily be prescribed. asserted
what → say → quantities
"We've seen it for ourselves," Murrill said. asserted
Murrill → see → ourselves
It's all done online." asserted
It → do → ?
Murrill argued that the system can allow people other than pregnant women to obtain the drugs, pointing to cases Louisiana authorities said involved women being pressured or deceived into taking abortion medication. asserted
women → argue → medication
"We have a situation in one town in Louisiana that we've documented and investigated where a father did not want his teenage daughter to keep a pregnancy," Murrill told Fox News Digital. asserted
Murrill → have → Digital
"And so he basically put the medication in a smoothie, forced her to drink it. asserted
he → put → it
She did ultimately give birth to that baby at 23 weeks and is still in a NICU fighting for its life." The attorney general also said Louisiana wants more help from the Trump administration. asserted
Louisiana → give → administration
"Obviously we think the FDA could be doing more and we've asked them to do that," Murrill said. uncertain
Murrill → think → that
Louisiana has separately challenged federal rules that eliminated an in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone. asserted
that → challenge → mifepristone
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser backed the litigation, accusing blue states of using their laws "to obstruct justice" and urging the Justice Department to settle Louisiana's separate FDA litigation. asserted
Dannenfelser → back → litigation
"Democrats’ pro-abortion extremism has brought this country to a crisis point. asserted
extremism → bring → point
Abortion activists flagrantly sell dangerous drugs across state lines and women and children pay the price, with more and more survivors of ‘death in a pill’ bravely coming forward," Dannenfelser said in a statement. asserted
Dannenfelser → sell → statement
Fox News Digital reached out to New York, California and Massachusetts' governors' offices for comment. asserted
Digital → reach → comment
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