A New York physician is facing legal action from both Texas and Louisiana for allegedly prescribing and mailing abortion pills to women there.
A New York judge has dismissed a lawsuit from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton seeking to enforce the Lone Star state’s abortion penalty in the Empire State.
Justice David Gandin of the Ulster County Supreme Court on Friday ruled in favor of County Clerk Taylor Bruck, who had refused to file a $113,000 Texas judgment against a Manhattan-based doctor.
The ruling upholds New York’s so-called abortion “shield law,” which bars officials from cooperating with out-of-state law enforcement actions targeting abortion services that are legal in New York.
Paxton sued Dr. Margaret Carpenter in December 2024 under Texas’s near-total abortion ban, accusing her of illegally prescribing and mailing abortion pills to a 20-year-old Texas woman, an act he said “resulted in the killing of an unborn child and serious medical complications for the mother.”
Texas law prohibits physicians from providing abortion-inducing drugs through the mail or by delivery service. It also bans telehealth consultations unless the provider holds a valid Texas medical license.
After Carpenter and her attorney failed to appear in court, a Texas judge issued a default judgment ordering her to pay $113,000 in penalties.
In March, Paxton’s office asked Bruck to register the Texas judgment and authorized the collection of those penalties. Bruck refused to do either, citing the state’s shield law. When Paxton’s office renewed its demand in July, Bruck again declined.
“While I’m not entirely sure how things work in Texas, here in New York, a rejection means the matter is closed,” Bruck said.
That prompted Paxton to file a petition asking the Ulster County Supreme Court to compel Bruck to accept the Texas filing.
“No matter where they reside, pro-abortion extremists who send drugs designed to kill the unborn into Texas will face the full force of our state’s pro-life laws,” Paxton said in a statement at that time.
In Friday’s ruling, Gandin sided with Bruck, concluding that Carpenter’s actions were legal in New York and explicitly protected by the state’s shield law.
By Bill Pan
