by Guy Page
H89, the transgender/abortion provider shield bill, was approved by House Judiciary Tuesday, February 7 and will go to the House floor tomorrow.
Of the 11 committee members, only Franklin County Republican Tom Oliver voted no.
H89 would:
- Define legally protected health care activity to include reproductive health care services and gender-affirming health care;
- Exempt cases involving tortious interference with legally protected health care activity from the SLAPP statute;
- Prohibit civil arrest of a person for purposes of abusive litigation concerning legally protected health care activity;
- Establish a new cause of action regarding tortious interference with legally protected health care activity;
- Prohibit a court from ordering a person to give testimony or a statement or produce documents or other things for use in connection with abusive litigation involving legally protected health care activity;
- Prohibit a public agency from cooperating in an interstate investigation or proceeding seeking to impose civil or criminal liability upon a person or entity for obtaining or providing legally protected health care;
- Establish a misdemeanor crime for using force or threat of force or physical obstruction to interfere with someone obtaining or providing legally protected health care; prohibit the extradition of a nonfugitive person in connection with abusive litigation in another jurisdiction;
- Prohibit a court from issuing a summons when a prosecution is pending in another state concerning legally protected health care activity or where a grand jury investigation concerning legally protected health care activity has commenced or is about to commence for a criminal violation of a law of the other state unless the acts forming the basis of the prosecution or investigation would also constitute an offense if occurring entirely in Vermont; and
- Expand eligibility to the Address Confidentiality Program to a person providing, assisting another person in obtaining, or obtaining for themselves reproductive health care services or gender-affirming health care services.