ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – In a first-of-its-kind challenge, a New York doctor has been sued by the state of Texas after a prescription for abortion pills was made through telemedicine. The lawsuit alleges the doctor violated Texas law, where abortion is illegal.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit has put New York’s Shield Law to the test for the first time. The law addresses interstate telemedicine and is meant to protect reproductive rights after that landmark Supreme Court ruling, when Roe v. Wade was overturned.
In 2022, the Supreme Court held the constitution does not protect rights to an abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. After that decision, many states outlawed abortion, while other states adopted measures to protect doctors who provide abortion services.
The Shield Law is intended to protect medical providers from being punished for prescribing abortion pills to patients in states with bans, prescriptions that are made online or over the phone.
Texas bars abortion at all stages of pregnancy. Paxton's lawsuit claims the New York doctor violated Texas laws and seeks up to $250,000 and an injunction on that doctor for providing abortion pills to a patient who lives in Texas.
Attorney and Partner at Tully Rinckey Donald Chesworth sheds light on the situation.
“The first question is going to be, is writing a prescription practicing medicine? And if it is, then I think the law clearly prohibits anybody from doing it in a state that they’re not licensed in,” said Chesworth.
Chesworth said there’s a second question that will come into play.
“Can a doctor write a prescription for a patient who is not a resident of the state where the doctor is licensed?” said Chesworth.
The Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine says tele-med abortion services increase access to healthcare.
In 2023 Governor Kathy Hochul signed the bill, to provide legal protections to doctors who prescribe the abortion pill to out of state patients via telehealth. At the time she said, “Our own providers, our New York providers, are threatened by other states’ governors, law enforcement officials. This is New York. We don’t respond well to threats.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James issued a statement on Monday that read in part, “Restricting access to these pills doesn't help Americans; it harms them. That’s why we enacted our shield law, establishing New York as a beacon of reproductive freedom and protecting our providers from out-of-state anti-choice attacks. I will continue to protect people’s reproductive rights and access to life-saving health care.”
On Friday, after the Texas lawsuit was filed, Hochul released a statement that read in part, “As Texas attempts to limit women's rights, I'm committed to maintaining New York's status as a safe harbor for all who seek abortion care, and protecting the reproductive freedom of all New Yorkers. Make no mistake: I will do everything in my power to enforce the laws of New York state."
Chesworth said he expects more virtual services will be challenged outside of the medical field.
“As you’ve indicated it’s an interesting area and it’s probably only going to get more complicated and there’s going to be a lot of activity around this kind of thing in the future, not only for medical practice but for all kinds of professional services,” said Chesworth.
