Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a groundbreaking lawsuit against Dr. Margaret Daley Carpenter, a New York physician, for prescribing abortion pills to a Texas woman who suffered severe complications, including heavy bleeding, landing her in the emergency room. This case challenges blue-state abortion shield laws that aim to protect out-of-state providers offering telehealth abortion services.
Paxton is seeking a temporary injunction to halt Dr. Carpenter from “illegally prescribing abortion-inducing drugs to Texas residents and illegally practicing medicine in the State of Texas.” Additionally, the lawsuit requests $100,000 for each violation of Texas law and attorney’s fees.
“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.”
Texas law prohibits out-of-state doctors from practicing medicine without a Texas license and bans the distribution of abortion pills by mail. Dr. Carpenter, co-founder of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine, is licensed in New York but not Texas. Paxton emphasized, “In Texas, we treasure the health and lives of mothers and babies, and this is why out-of-state doctors may not illegally and dangerously prescribe abortion-inducing drugs to Texas residents.”
The coalition defended Dr. Carpenter, stating Paxton is prioritizing “his anti-abortion agenda over the health and well-being of women,” and argued the FDA-approved medication abortion protocol is “safe and effective.”
The lawsuit outlines how the 20-year-old woman, nine weeks pregnant, experienced severe bleeding after taking mifepristone and misoprostol prescribed by Dr. Carpenter. The biological father, unaware of the pregnancy, found the pills at their home. The complaint states, “Carpenter’s conduct violates the Texas Health and Safety Code’s prohibition on prescribing abortion-inducing drugs via telemedicine.”
Pro-life advocates praised Paxton’s actions. Katie Daniels of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America criticized the “mail-order abortion drug racket,” asserting, “Abortionists in states like New York openly violate the protective laws of pro-life states, killing unborn children and sending women to the emergency room in dire condition — all while sitting comfortably thousands of miles away.”
Abby Johnson, a pro-life activist and former Planned Parenthood clinic director, shared her own harrowing experience with a medication abortion, stating, “I thought I was going to die… No one told me about the horrendous side effects. I was totally alone and I would never wish that experience on anyone.”
This lawsuit marks a significant step in enforcing Texas’ pro-life laws and challenging the expansion of telehealth abortions across state lines.
