Louisiana Grand Jury Indicts New York Doctor for Allegedly Prescribing Abortion Pills Online to Teen

The charges mark a new chapter in an escalating showdown between states that ban abortion and those that want to protect and expand access to it. It is challenging one of the foremost strategies used by states that support abortion rights: shield laws intended to provide legal protection to doctors who prescribe and send abortion pills to states with bans. The charges were brought against Dr. Margaret Carpenter, who was operating under New York’s telemedicine abortion shield law, which stipulates that New York authorities will not cooperate with prosecutions or other legal actions filed against New York abortion providers by other states. Telemedicine abortion shield laws, which have been adopted by eight states so far, have become a significant avenue for providing access to abortion for women in states with bans without requiring them to leave their state.

An arrest warrant has been issued for a New York doctor indicted on Friday by a Louisiana grand jury for allegedly prescribing abortion pills online to a pregnant minor in the Deep South state, which has one of the strictest near-total abortion bans in the country. Grand jurors at the District Court for the Parish of West Baton Rouge unanimously issued an indictment against Dr. Margaret Carpenter; her company, Nightingale Medical, PC; and the minor’s mother. All three were charged with criminal abortion by means of abortion-inducing drugs, a felony. In addition to Carpenter, an arrest warrant was issued for the mother, who has not been publicly identified to protect the identity of the minor. District Attorney Tony Clayton told The Associated Press that the mother turned herself in to police on Friday.

A female New York doctor will be prosecuted for allegedly prescribing abortion medication via telemedicine in Louisiana. Dr. Margaret Carpenter was indicted in Louisiana Friday after allegedly using telemedicine to prescribe abortion medication to a patient. Carpenter, her company and an associate were charged with felony criminal abortion by means of abortion-inducing drugs, according to The Associated Press. It is not the first time Carpenter faced accusations of unlawful abortions. Texas filed a lawsuit against her in December, claiming she sent abortion pills to the state, the AP reported. She was not charged. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul released a statement after a grand jury at the District Court for the Parish of West Baton Rouge in Louisiana made the decision, showing support for the doctor and calling the act "providing basic health care."