A New York physician has been sued for allegedly mailing abortion medication to a woman in the Dallas area.
The legal challenge, initiated by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, claims Dr Margaret Daley Carpenter provided medication to a 20-year-old who was nine weeks pregnant, contravening Texas’s comprehensive abortion restrictions, BBC reported.
Dr Carpenter’s actions may be protected under New York’s shield laws, which defend doctors providing abortion medication to patients across state lines. These laws prevent New York’s cooperation with other states’ attempts to take action against doctors who comply with New York regulations.
New York belongs to a group of eight Democrat-governed states with shield legislation. The state permits abortion until foetal viability at approximately 24 weeks, with certain limitations thereafter.
The lawsuit states Dr Carpenter lacks Texas medical licensing, making her prescriptions of mifepristone and misoprostol unauthorised. The case details that the Dallas patient conceived in mid-May, noting she faced no life-threatening conditions from the pregnancy.
Court documents indicate the woman experienced significant bleeding and required hospitalisation on July 16. The child’s father, previously unaware of the pregnancy, discovered the abortion medication afterwards. The lawsuit does not specify any enduring medical issues.
Following the US Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision to end federal abortion protection, states enacted diverse legislation. Republican states, including Texas, implemented restrictions, whilst abortion medication has provided an alternative route, with pills entering restricted states from permissive jurisdictions.
Dr Carpenter leads the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine, which supports doctors in shield law states to provide consultations and medication to patients in restricted areas.
The Texas Attorney General seeks court intervention to halt Dr Carpenter’s alleged violations, demanding £79,000 per infringement of state abortion regulations.