New York Doctor Fined $100,000 by Texas Judge for Writing Prescriptions for Abortion Pills

A New York physician was fined $100,000 by a Texas judge for administering abortion drugs.

In a major legal win for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a state judge has mandated that a New York physician cease giving abortion drugs to women in Texas and pay a minimum $100,000 fine. Judge Bryan Gantt of Collin County rendered the decision on Thursday, underscoring the escalating legal dispute over conservative states’ authority to control access to abortion outside of their boundaries.

Dr. Margaret Carpenter, a doctor from New Paltz who founded the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine, is at the heart of the lawsuit. Authorities in Texas accused Carpenter of using telemedicine to unlawfully prescribe two medications used in medication abortions, misoprostol and mifepristone, to a woman in Texas. Gantt entered a default judgment against Carpenter after she did not reply to the state’s civil complaint.

Requests for comment were not immediately answered by Carpenter or the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine. The group has, however, repeatedly denounced Paxton’s legal activities, claiming that they put women in risk by limiting their access to adequate and safe reproductive healthcare.

The result follows the US Supreme Court’s 2022 rule that let states to impose abortion restrictions, which sparked a surge in court disputes over access to abortion. Since then, more than 20 states—including Texas—have passed similar legislation, while Democratic-led states like New York have passed “shield laws” to insulate abortion providers from lawsuits filed outside of their state. When other states attempt to punish, litigate, or penalize medical practitioners who provide abortion treatment in accordance with New York standards, New York law expressly declares that it will not assist.

In Louisiana, Carpenter is also facing legal action after a grand jury indicted her for giving a teenager abortion medicine. It looks like this is the first time a state has criminally charged an out-of-state physician for writing prescriptions for abortion medicines. But according to Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York, she would not sign the extradition order that Louisiana officials sent to arrest Carpenter.

It is thought to be the first case of its sort against Carpenter, examining the boundaries of governmental power over cross-state medical practitioners. Prosecutors in Texas contend that by practicing medicine in the state without a license, Carpenter violated both the state’s abortion laws and occupational licensing requirements. The matter started when Carpenter’s partner reportedly found out that she had prescribed the prescription to a patient who was seeking hospital treatment for drug-related issues.

Legal disputes over access and jurisdiction are anticipated to persist, as medication abortion currently makes up over half of all abortions performed in the United States. This case may establish a standard for resolving disputes over medical treatment and legal jurisdiction between states with divergent abortion policies.