(The Center Square) — A New York county clerk has again refused to certify a civil judgment issued by Texas’ attorney general against a New York doctor accused of sending abortion pills to the state.
For several months, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has been trying to get New York court to enforce a $113,000 civil fine against Dr. Margaret Carpenter, who practices north of New York City. The physician is accused of breaking that state’s law by prescribing abortion medication, mifepristone, through telemedicine.
Acting Ulster County Clerk Taylor Bruck rejected the AG’s request in March, but Paxton sent another letter to the county last week demanding that he certify the judgment by a July 16 deadline. In a terse response to Paxton, Bruck once again rejected the request, citing New York’s “shield” law.
“The rejection stands. Resubmitting the same materials does not alter the outcome,” Bruck wrote to Paxton. “While I’m not entirely sure how things work in Texas, here in New York, a rejection means the matter is closed.”
Paxton filed a lawsuit against Carpenter in December, accusing her of violating Texas law by providing a Collin County resident with abortion-inducing drugs that terminated the pregnancy of the mother while also “causing serious health complications requiring medical intervention.”
Texas laws prohibit physicians or medical suppliers from providing abortion-inducing drugs by courier, delivery, or mail service. The state also bars physicians from treating patients or prescribing medicine through telehealth services unless they are licensed to practice medicine in Texas. The attorney general’s lawsuit said Carpenter knowingly broke the state’s laws on abortion.
A U.S. District Court judge ruled Carpenter violated state laws, fined her $100,000 and ordered that she pay all court costs and attorney fees totaling over $13,000 with 7.5% interest for every day the fines aren’t paid. The ruling also permanently banned Carpenter from prescribing abortion-inducing drugs to Texas residents and from practicing medicine in Texas without a license and registration.
New York is one of several Democratic-led states that passed so-called “shield” laws blocking physicians that perform abortions from prosecution by other states in response to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned federal protections for abortions.
Gov. Kathy Hochul last month invoked New York’s shield law in rejecting Republican Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry’s request to extradite Carpenter to Louisiana to face charges of prescribing abortion pills to a pregnant minor.
Hochul, a Democrat, praised the county clerk for again rejecting Paxton’s request to levy the fine against Carpenter and blasted the Texas attorney general as an “anti-abortion zealot.”
“The anti-abortion extremists are at it again,” Hochul said in a statement. “Our response to their baseless claim is clear: no way in hell. New York won’t be bullied. And I’ll never back down from this fight.”
