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(New York, NY) – A New York doctor is facing criminal abortion charges from the state of Louisiana. According to prosecutors from West Baton Rouge Parish the clinician, Dr. Margaret Carpenter, prescribed an abortion pill to a patient in Louisiana via Telehealth. Officials say the mother of the patient ordered the medication via mail and administered the pill, going against the state’s strict abortion laws.
Following the indictment, New York Governor Kathy Hochul vowed to protect the doctor and refuted any claims that she would sign off on an extradition. Hochul says she is committed to protecting reproductive rights and would not punish a doctor for upholding their oath. This seems to be the first criminal case of a doctor from a state facing charges for another state’s abortion laws since Roe v Wade was overturned in 2022. Doctors in New York are protected from lawsuits from other states under the shield laws passed in 2023.
