Washington, Minnesota become trans refuges, shield abortions

By LISA BAUMANN and STEVE KARNOWSKI
Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) — Democratic governors in Washington state and Minnesota on Thursday enacted legal protections for people who travel to those states seeking reproductive and gender-affirming procedures and treatment. The actions added to the list of blue states enacting safeguards against bans or limits on transgender and abortion healthcare being passed in Republican states. Washington’s law bans other states from using its state courts or judicial processes to enforce their bans on abortion and gender-affirming health care and blocks related warrants, subpoenas, extradition requests and court orders from other states. And Minnesota is now a refuge for out-of-state youths seeking transgender care and for abortion patients.