By
Texas' attorney general is taking his anti-abortion crusade beyond state borders. In what may be the first lawsuit of its kind, Texas AG Ken Paxton’s office is suing a New York physician for prescribing abortion pills to a Texas resident through telemedicine.
Filed Thursday, the lawsuit argues that the doctor, Margaret Daley Carpenter, prescribed mifepristone and misoprostol to a 20-year-old Texan woman via telemedicine in May, in violation of Texas state law. The patient subsequently experienced “hemorrhage or severe bleeding” after ingesting the medication and was taken to the hospital, the lawsuit says. At the hospital, her partner learned that she had been pregnant and “suspected” that the woman had “done something to contribute to the miscarriage or abortion” of the fetus, according to the complaint. Her partner then found the medications allegedly prescribed by Carpenter at home.
The AG’s office is asking a judge to impose a temporary injunction to bar Carpenter, who it says does not have a license to practice medicine in Texas, from prescribing abortion-inducing drugs to Texas residents. It also requested a civil penalty of $100,000 for each violation.
Carpenter did not respond to NBC News’ request for comment on Friday.
The lawsuit signals a potential new front in the fight over abortion access. It’s unclear how Carpenter or New York State will respond. In 2023, New York enacted a shield law to protect doctors who prescribe abortion pills to out-of-state patients via telemedicine. Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement Friday that she is “committed to maintaining New York’s status as a safe harbor for all who seek abortion care.”
“Make no mistake: I will do everything in my power to enforce the laws of New York State,” she added.
Even so, Paxton’s lawsuit could have serious consequences. As The New York Times reported:
[L]egal experts say they expect Texas to try to pursue its case even if it is rebuffed by New York’s law. Such an effort could wind up in federal court, potentially imperiling the ability of women in other states with bans to receive abortion pills by mail, and becoming a major test of whether states can enforce contradictory laws across state lines.