Texas AG Sues New York Doctor For Prescribing Abortion Pill In Landmark Case

AP Photo/Eric Gay, File

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R-TX) announced on Friday he sued a doctor in New York state for prescribing a woman abortion pulls via a telemedicine call.

The Associated Press reported that the suit “appears to be the first challenge anywhere in the U.S. to a shield law that Democratic-controlled states have been adopting to protect exactly this kind of prescription.”

“Dr. Margaret Daley Carpenter (Carpenter) of New York violates Texas law by providing abortion-inducing drugs to Texans through telehealth. Carpenter is not a licensed Texas physician, nor is she authorized to practice telemedicine in the State of Texas. The Court should enjoin Carpenter from continuing to operate outside the bounds of the law and impose civil penalties for her violation of Texas law,” wrote Paxton in his court filing in Collin County.

According to the AP, Paxton is suing for up to $250,000 in civil penalties. “Mary Ruth Ziegler, a law professor at the University of California, Davis, School of Law, said a challenge to shield laws, which blue states started adopting in 2023, has been anticipated. And it could have a chilling effect on prescriptions,” added the AP, noting:

“Will doctors be more afraid to mail pills into Texas, even if they might be protected by shield laws, because they don’t know if they’re protected by shield laws?” Ziegler said in an interview Friday.
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Texas bars abortion at all stages of pregnancy and has been one of the most aggressive states in pushing back against abortion rights. It began enforcing a state law in 2021 – even before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and opened the door to state bans – that barred nearly all abortions by allowing citizens to sue anyone who provides an abortion or assists someone in obtaining one.

“In Texas, we treasure the health and lives of mothers and babies, and this is why out-of-state doctors may not illegally and dangerously prescribe abortion-inducing drugs to Texas residents,” Paxton’s statement on the suit read.

New York Attorney General Letitia James hit back, saying, “As other states move to attack those who provide or obtain abortion care, New York is proud to be a safe haven for abortion access. We will always protect our providers from unjust attempts to punish them for doing their job, and we will never cower in the face of intimidation or threats.”