Texas AG Files Lawsuit Against New York Abortion Provider For Mailing Abortion Pills

Ashley Sadler

Communications Director

(Oregon Right to Life) — Texas’ Republican Attorney General last week filed a lawsuit against a New York doctor for mailing abortion drugs in violation of Texas law. The case has potential to impact the increasingly common prescription and sending of abortion pills across state lines, a practice that is endangering the lives of women and unborn babies nationwide.

In the December 12 filing, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton stated that the New York doctor, Margaret Daley Carpenter, “violate[d] Texas law by providing abortion-inducing drugs to Texans through telehealth.” Carpenter is the founder of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine and works with two other telemedicine abortion organizations, Hey Jane and Aid Access.

In a December 13 press release, Paxton’s office explained that Carpenter “unlawfully provided a Collin County resident with abortion-inducing drugs that ended the life of an unborn child and resulted in serious complications for the mother, who then required medical intervention.”

The 20-year-old woman who was prescribed the pills suffered severe bleeding after taking the drugs and sought emergency medical care, Live Action reported.

Carpenter is not licensed to practice telemedicine in Texas, and Texas law prohibits physicians and medical suppliers from mailing abortion drugs. 

Texas is now seeking an injunction against Carpenter to block her from continuing to prescribe abortion drugs against state law, as well as “civil penalties of no less than $100,000 for each violation of the law.”

“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,” Paxton said in the press release.

RELATED: Oregon’s Democratic Governor Tina Kotek Increasing Abortion Pill Stockpile After Trump Win

Pro-life advocates have reacted with enthusiasm to the legal action against the New York abortion provider, highlighting the risks inherent in the widespread distribution of abortion pills.

“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,” Katie Daniel, Director of Legal Affairs for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said in a Friday press release. “Thanks to extreme blue-state politicians who shield them, 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.”

“We thank Attorney General Ken Paxton for leading the charge to hold out-of-state abortion businesses accountable for preying on Texas’ unborn children and their mothers,” Daniel added. “We hope his example will embolden other pro-life leaders and begin the undoing of the mail-order abortion drug racket.”

Rep. Tom Oliverson, a Texas state representative and Houston-based anesthesiologist, affirmed in a social media post that “Texas will always stand firm in defending life.”

“Out-of-state doctors prescribing abortion pills to Texans is dangerous and illegal,” he added, thanking AG Paxton for “taking a stand to protect mothers and the unborn.”

In an earlier post, Rep. Oliverson tagged Paxton and noted that he and Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America had “a little legislative backup coming your way soon on this issue.”

RELATED: More Media Distortions – Texas’ Pro-Life Law Didn’t Kill Teen Mom

The case from Texas against the New York abortion doctor comes as abortion pills remain at the center of the national conversation concerning abortion and pro-life protections.

Today, chemical abortions prescribed through telehealth appointments have become the most common abortion method in the U.S., accounting for over 60% of abortions last year, despite the risks posed to the pregnant women who consume them.

A 2009 study from Finland found that chemical abortions were associated with an adverse reaction rate four times that of surgical abortions, including an increased risk of hemorrhage and incomplete abortion. And per the FDA, roughly 85% of women who take the abortion pill regimen report at least one adverse reaction. In 2022, two Georgia women died after taking the abortion pill when they suffered incomplete abortions (a known risk) and contracted sepsis.

President-Elect Donald Trump and his vice presidential pick J.D. Vance have indicated that their incoming administration will not take action against the mailing of abortion pills, which was greenlit by the Biden administration’s FDA during the COVID-19 pandemic response.

However, cases like Texas’ lawsuit against the New York doctor – as well as some of Trump’s key pro-life cabinet nominations, including pro-life physician Dr. Marty Makary to head the FDA – could pave the way for future judicial and administrative decisions that will protect moms and unborn babies in the coming years.

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