In a first-of-its-kind lawsuit, Texas has filed suit against a New York doctor for allegedly providing abortion pills to a Texas woman, resulting in the death of her unborn child and severe health complications for the mother.
At a glance:
- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing Dr. Margaret Daley Carpenter for illegally mailing abortion pills to a Texas resident.
- The case challenges conflicting abortion laws between pro-life Texas and pro-abortion New York.
- The lawsuit seeks over $100,000 in civil penalties for each violation and a court order to block Carpenter from further actions.
- Medication abortions accounted for 63% of all U.S. abortions in 2023, highlighting the growing role of abortion pills.
The lawsuit claims that in May 2024, a 20-year-old woman in Collin County, Texas, obtained abortion pills from Dr. Carpenter, founder of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine. Carpenter, who practices in New York, allegedly violated Texas law prohibiting the mailing of abortion-inducing drugs and prescribing medications via telehealth without a Texas medical license.
According to the complaint, the woman was nine weeks pregnant when she took the pills. On July 16, she experienced severe bleeding and was taken to the hospital, where it was confirmed she had lost the pregnancy. The child’s biological father later found the abortion pills and contacted authorities.
“In this case, an out-of-state doctor violated the law and caused serious harm to this patient,” Paxton said. “This doctor prescribed abortion-inducing drugs—unauthorized, over telemedicine—causing her patient to end up in the hospital with serious complications.”
A clash of state laws
This case represents a legal clash between Texas, which has strict abortion restrictions, and New York, which has laws shielding doctors who prescribe abortion pills to residents of other states.
Carpenter’s organization, founded after the Supreme Court’s 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade, assists doctors who want to provide abortion drugs across state lines. She also works with AidAccess, an international abortion drug provider that ships pills across the U.S.
The lawsuit seeks to impose civil penalties of at least $100,000 per violation and a court order to prevent Carpenter from continuing to prescribe abortion pills to Texas residents.
Pro-life reactions
Pro-life organizations have applauded the lawsuit. Katie Daniel, Director of Legal Affairs for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, called the case a critical step in holding out-of-state abortion providers accountable.
“For the mail-order abortion industry that sells high-risk drugs without any in-person doctor visit, life is cheap and ‘DIY’ abortion highly profitable,” Daniel said. “Thanks to extreme blue-state politicians who shield them, abortionists in states like New York openly violate the protective laws of pro-life states.”
Medication abortions, which involve a two-pill regimen of mifepristone and misoprostol, now account for the majority of abortions in the U.S. According to the Guttmacher Institute, 63% of all abortions in 2023 were medication abortions, up from 53% in 2020.
What’s next?
The lawsuit, Texas v. Carpenter, will test the enforceability of Texas laws against out-of-state providers and is likely to influence the legal landscape surrounding abortion access across state lines.
Carpenter has not commented on the lawsuit, but pro-choice advocates argue that cases like this could set a dangerous precedent for restricting telemedicine services nationwide. As the case unfolds, it is expected to attract national attention for its potential to redefine the legal boundaries of state abortion laws.
