Topline
A Texas judge Thursday ordered a New York doctor to pay over $100,000 for mailing abortion pills to a patient in the Lone Star state, according to The New York Times, setting a precedent for telemedicine abortion shield laws protecting doctors who provide abortion pills to patients in states with abortion bans.
Key Facts
Judge Bryan Gantt said the doctor, Dr. Margaret Daley Carpenter, is permanently blocked from prescribing abortion drugs to Texas residents, the Times reported, noting Gantt ordered Carpenter to pay a $100,000 fine and $13,000 in legal fees and costs including interest.
Carpenter did not respond to the Texas lawsuit filed against her in December and was not in court for a hearing on the case, as New York’s shield law bars cooperation with out-of-state legal actions, according to the Times.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Carpenter in December, arguing she violated Texas’ abortion ban by mailing abortion drugs to a patient in the state, with Paxton seeking at least $10,000 in damages.
New York’s shield law also protects Carpenter’s medical license in the state and enables her to sue Texas for the recuperation of costs linked to the Texas lawsuit against her, potentially creating competing lawsuits over each states’ abortion laws.
The Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine, an organization co-founded by Carpenter, did not immediately respond to Forbes’ request for comment.
Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you’ll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here.
Tangent
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry greenlit a request to extradite Carpenter to the state after she was accused of providing abortion pills to a Louisiana minor. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Thursday she would protect Carpenter from extradition, noting at a news conference that “not now, not ever” would she sign the extradition order from Louisiana.
Key Background
Eight states have telemedicine abortion shield laws in place, the Times reported, including states like Massachusetts, Colorado and Vermont. The laws protect doctors from legal consequences if they send abortion pills to patients living in states with abortion bans, a service that has become popular as more states have instituted abortion bans or limitations since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, ending the federal right to abortion. Abortion pill provider Plan C told The Washington Post there are over 24 organizations sending abortion pills into states with abortion bans. As of last year, at least 6,000 women per month were receiving pills from online clinic Aid Access, according to the Post. President Donald Trump said on the campaign trail last year he would not institute a federal ban on abortion, though experts have suggested the president could still target abortion pills. After signaling in August he was open to limiting access to the pills, Trump said in December it “would be my commitment” to ensure the Food and Drug Administration does not remove access to abortion pills. Medication abortions accounted for 63% of abortions in the U.S. in 2023, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
Further Reading
Texas Sues N.Y. Abortion Provider For Mailing Pills Into State (Forbes)
Abortion Provider Won’t Be Extradited to Louisiana, N.Y. Governor Says (NYT)
