On Friday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) announced that the state is suing a New York doctor for allegedly prescribing medication abortion drugs to a Texas woman. It appears to be the first challenge to shield laws passed by Democratic-led states.
The state court lawsuit claims that Dr. Margaret Daley Carpenter prescribed the medications mifepristone and misoprostol via telemedicine to a woman in Collin County, Texas. Paxton says this violates Texas's various laws which ban abortion unless done to save the life of the pregnant person, prohibit health prescriptions for abortion, and require healthcare providers treating Texans to have a medical license in the state. Paxton asks that the court prohibit Carpenter from treating Texas patients via telemedicine and to impose civil penalties of at least $100,000 for every violation of the state's abortion ban.
Not mentioned in the complaint is that New York passed a so-called telemedicine "shield law" in 2023, which purports to protect healthcare providers who prescribe and send abortion pills to patients in states with bans from facing criminal charges and extradition. A total of 18 states plus Washington, D.C. have passed similar laws, but they have yet to be tested in court.
University of Pittsburgh law professor and abortion legal scholar Greer Donley noted on Bluesky that Carpenter followed the laws in New York, but Texas is trying to apply its laws to her. Still, the case could end up at the ultraconservative Texas Supreme Court.
https://bsky.app/profile/greerdonley.bsky.social/post/3ld7j3lkde22m
Carpenter is the co-founder of the advocacy organization Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine (ACT). ACT said in a statement shared with Jezebel that the FDA-approved medication abortion regimen is an essential part of healthcare. "Ken Paxton is prioritizing his anti-abortion agenda over the health and well-being of women by attempting to shut down telemedicine abortion nationwide. By threatening access to safe and effective reproductive health care, he is putting women directly in harm’s way," the statement reads in part. "Shield laws are essential in safeguarding and enabling abortion care regardless of a patient’s zip code or ability to pay. They are fundamental to ensuring everyone can access reproductive health care as a human right."
New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) said in a statement that New York is a safe haven for people who provide or obtain abortions. "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," James said. "I will continue to defend reproductive freedom and justice for New Yorkers, including from out-of-state anti-choice attacks."
The Center for Reproductive Rights, which helped advocate for some states' shield laws, called the suit "a chilling attempt to scare doctors" from providing abortions. "Telemedicine and medication abortion have been lifelines for people who live in states where abortion is banned. Now, anti-abortion officials like Attorney General Paxton are using fear to crush what little access remains for their residents," said Nancy Northup, the organization's president and CEO. "When Roe v. Wade was overturned, we warned that exactly this type of legal chaos would ensue. It will not stop until Congress passes a federal right to abortion."
As for how this all happened, the complaint suggests that the woman's partner, who didn't know about the pregnancy or abortion, reported the doctor to the state:
22. About mid-May 2024, a 20-year-old female resident of Collin County, Texas became pregnant. The mother of the unborn child did not communicate her pregnancy to the biological father of the unborn child...
24. On July 16, 2024, the mother asked the biological father of her unborn child to be taken to the hospital because of hemorrhage or severe bleeding. After the mother was seen by health care professionals at a hospital in Collin County, Texas, the biological father of the unborn child was told that the mother of the unborn child was experiencing a hemorrhage or severe bleeding as she “had been” nine weeks pregnant before losing the child. The biological father of the unborn child, upon learning this information, concluded that the biological mother of the unborn child had intentionally withheld information from him regarding her pregnancy, and he further suspected that the biological mother had in fact done something to contribute to the miscarriage or abortion of the unborn child. The biological father, upon returning to the residence in Collin County, discovered the two above-referenced medications from Carpenter.
The suit claims that the woman "did not have any life-threatening physical condition aggravated by, caused by, or arising from the pregnancy that placed her at risk of death or any serious risk of substantial impairment." Though it's unclear how Paxton's office knows that unless they obtained her medical records. The complaint leadingly refers to her as the "mother" eight times.
Conservatives view the availability of abortion pills by mail as a threat to their state bans and are desperate to crack down on mailing in any way they can. Another state unveiled a different tactic to nullify shield laws earlier this week. A Tennessee lawmaker filed a bill that would allow family members of women who terminate a pregnancy with abortion drugs sent by mail to sue the pill providers for up to $5 million.
We can expect more challenges to shield laws — and potentially more men suing their partners directly over abortions with which they disagree. Texas Right to Life, the state’s top anti-abortion organization, told the Washington Post after Donald Trump won the presidency that they're recruiting men to file such lawsuits but purposely waited until after the election. The strategy involves employees contacting anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers and "abortion recovery groups" that "minister" to men. "You will see lawsuits filed now that were strategically not filed before the election," Texas Right to Life President John Seago said. "We have donors who fund that stuff who said, 'Let’s wait until after November.'"
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence and seeking options to safely access abortion care, you can get support from If/When/How’s Repro Legal Helpline here or call 844-868-2812.
