Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman LISA SWAIN
District 38 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Restricts jurisdiction over New Jersey resident who facilitates abortion in violation of other states' laws; bars civil and criminal liability.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the enforcement of certain states' laws regarding abortion and supplementing P.L.1997, c.204.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. In any enforcement action pursuant to the "Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act," section 1 of P.L.1997, c.204 (C.2A:49A-25 et seq.) to enforce an order or judgment under a law of another state that bans or imposes restrictions on abortion and allows an action against a person who facilitates the performance or inducement of an abortion in violation of that law, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that if the defendant is a New Jersey resident, the rendering state lacked personal jurisdiction over the defendant at the time the action was brought. A New Jersey resident shall not be criminally or civilly liable for any civil action or criminal prosecution brought against the New Jersey resident pursuant to any such law.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill provides that an order or judgment under a law of another state that bans or restricts abortions and allows an action against a person who facilitates the performance or inducement of an abortion in violation of that state's law would be presumed to be unenforceable in this State. Under the bill, there would be a rebuttable presumption that if the defendant is a resident of New Jersey, the rendering state lacked personal jurisdiction over the defendant at the time the action was brought. The bill also provides that a New Jersey resident could not be held criminally or civilly liable for any civil action or criminal prosecution brought against the New Jersey resident pursuant to that state's law.
According to the Center for Reproductive Rights and the Guttmacher Institute, approximately 25 states are likely to ban abortion or substantially limit access to it if the United States Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973).
For example, a law enacted in Texas in May 2021, Tex. SB 8, 87th Regular Session ch. 62, bans abortions in that state after six weeks' pregnancy. The law also permits enforcement by private citizens, including authorizing an action against a person who "aids or abets the performance or inducement of an abortion." Statutory relief includes damages in an amount not less than $10,000, costs, and attorney fees.