Democrats in Congress have scrambled to protect abortion rights as fear mounts over the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. Democratic attorneys general at the state level, meanwhile, are gearing up for a fight.

On Monday, New York's attorney general Letitia James proposed legislation that would fund abortion providers and reproductive care nonprofits statewide. Her proposal comes as other attorney generals in blue states like California, Massachusetts and Washington have promised to fight efforts to restrict abortion rights in their states or for residents of others that seek an abortion.

"No matter what happens in the weeks to come, New York will always fight to protect our right to make decisions about our own bodies and expand access to this critical and lifesaving care," James said in a statement.

With 13 Republican states prepared to enact sweeping restrictions through "trigger bans" on abortion if Roe is overturned, Democrats are promising to make their efforts difficult.

One area where several are drawing early battle lines is on protecting women who leave states with abortion bans to seek them within their borders. Republican legislators in several states have proposed laws to punish women who seek an abortion in a state where its legal or levy criminal charges against any providers that facilitate travel.

Washington's attorney general Bob Ferguson noted that a number of states, including Missouri, were looking to pass laws that target women seeking abortions in states like his, but he vowed to bring lawsuits against any state that does so.

“If Missouri or any other state passes such an unconstitutional law like this, and it affects Washingtonians, we will challenge it in court and I assure you we will win," Ferguson said at a rally last week.

Even before it was revealed that the Supreme Court may be veering towards overruling Roe v. Wade, California's Attorney General Rob Bonta ordered law enforcement officials in California to avoid using any state law to "punish people who suffer the loss of their pregnancy".

Abortion rights have become the hot-button political issue ahead of the midterm elections after Politico reported last week that a leaked draft opinion authored by Justice Samuel Alito showed that the highest court was leaning towards repealing Roe v. Wade, the 1973 law guaranteeing a woman’s right to an abortion.

Since then, Democrats in Congress have moved to enact legislation to protect abortion rights nationwide. Their odds of success however are slim in an evenly divided Senate and during an election year where vulnerable red and purple state Democrats are up for reelection.

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