Texas has sued a New York doctor for allegedly prescribing abortion pills to a woman near Dallas.
A lawsuit, filed by Texas attorney general Ken Paxton on Thursday, alleges Dr Margaret Carpenter unlawfully prescribed abortion-inducing drugs to the 20-year-old, in violation of the state’s laws.
While no criminal charges are involved, Mr Paxton said the woman, who was nine weeks pregnant, was taken to hospital in July with “serious complications” after taking the medication.
“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,” he said.
Court papers note the woman received two drugs commonly used in abortions for pregnancies up to 10 weeks: mifepristone, which blocks a vital hormone in pregnancy, and misoprostol, which causes contractions, cramping and bleeding in the uterus.
The documents add the state of Texas is seeking up to $250,000 from New York’s Dr Carpenter – who is also a co-founder of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine.
The lawsuit says the medic’s “conduct violates the Texas Health and Safety Code’s prohibition on prescribing abortion-inducing drugs via telemedicine”. Such prescriptions are made online and over the phone.
Texas bars abortion at all stages of pregnancy, and in 2021 – before the Supreme Court repealed Roe v. Wade, which gave a constitutional right to abortion – passed a law allowing state citizens to sue anyone who provides abortions or assists someone in undergoing the procedure.
State laws also prohibit a physician or medical supplier from providing any abortion-inducing drugs by courier, delivery, or mail service, and require physicians to have a Texas medical license to prescribe to state residents.
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However, New York is among the Democratic-led states that have passed so-called shield laws aiming to protect doctors who provide abortion pills to patients in other states.
The legislation says the state will not cooperate with another state’s effort to prosecute, sue or otherwise penalise a doctor for providing the pills, as long as the doctor complies with New York law.
The state’s laws also include a provision allowing a medic who has been sued to countersue to recover damages.
In response to Mr Paxton’s lawsuit, New York’s own attorney general Letitia Hames said the state is “proud to be a safe haven for abortion access”.
“Abortion is, and will continue to be, legal and protected in New York,” she said in a statement.
“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.
“I will continue to defend reproductive freedom and justice for New Yorkers, including from out-of-state anti-choice attacks.”
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Medication abortions using mifepristone and misoprostol are the most common method of terminating pregnancies in the US.
The Supreme Court rejected a bid to restrict access to mifepristone earlier this year, after campaign groups sought an end to mail delivery of the drug without a woman seeing a doctor in person.
