New York doctor charged with giving Louisiana teen abortion pill
2025-02-01
Category: news

A New York doctor has been indicted for allegedly sending abortion pills to a teenager in Louisiana, in what could be the first time a provider has faced criminal charges for mailing the medication since the rollback of abortion rights in the US. On Friday, a grand jury issued an indictment against Dr Margaret Carpenter for criminal abortion, a felony in the state, which has a near total ban on the procedure. An indictment was also issued against the teenager's mother.  New York Governor Kathy Hochul said the state would not comply with an extradition request for the doctor's arrest and said they would shield her."I am proud to say that I will never, under any circumstances, turn this doctor over to the State of Louisiana under any extradition request," she said in a video statement. 
Since the landmark Roe v Wade case was overturned by the Supreme Court, Louisiana has enacted a near-total abortion ban, with no exceptions for rape or incest.The state was the first in the US to classify abortion medications mifepristone and misoprostol as "controlled dangerous substances", making it a crime punishable by up to five years in prison to access the drugs without a prescription.Louisiana Assistant District Attorney Tony Clayton told Baton Rouge Public Radio on Friday that Dr Carpenter sent the pills to the teenager's mother to give to her daughter. "The minor child was home alone, felt that she had to take the pill because of what her mother told her," Clayton said.After the indictment in West Baton Rouge, Louisiana's Republican Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a statement that the state would "hold individuals accountable for breaking the law", according to US media. Last year, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also filed a civil lawsuit against Dr Carpenter last year for allegedly prescribing abortion pills to a woman in Dallas. The BBC has contacted Dr Carpenter for comment. In a statement, the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine, which Dr Carpenter co-founded, called the indictment against her "the latest in a series of threats that jeopardizes women's access to reproductive healthcare throughout this country". The organisation said the medication is approved by US regulators and has been proven safe and effective for decades. New York Gov Hochul called the criminal case "outrageous" and said it is an attempt by Republicans to prevent access to reproductive care not just in conservative states, but across the US. "We must stand firm and fight this," she said. "I will do everything I can to protect this doctor and allow her to continue the work that she is doing that is so essential." In 2023, the state of New York passed a shield law that protects New York doctors who prescribe and send abortion pills to patients in states that have outlawed the procedure. It is one of several Democratic states with a shield law. In a statement, New York Attorney General Letitia James said the criminal charges against Dr Carpenter were a "cowardly attempt" to "weaponize the law against out-of-state providers". "We will not allow bad actors to undermine our providers' ability to deliver critical care," she said.Abortion pills are now the most common method of ending a pregnancy in the US, accounting for nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the country.