Texas Takes on New York in Abortion Pill Battle

Texas law bans nearly all abortions and threatens abortion providers with up to life in prison and $100,000 fines. New York law, on the other hand, protects abortion providers, including those who send medications to patients in other states. Those laws now look poised to clash at the Supreme Court after a Texas judge on Thursday forbid a New York doctor from sending abortion pills to Texas patients and ordered her to pay $100,000 for providing mifepristone and misoprostol to a 20-year-old resident who turned up at a hospital in July with what the Texas attorney general's office said was "hemorrhage or severe bleeding," per the New York Times.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Dr. Margaret Carpenter, co-founder of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine, in December. The New York resident did not respond or appear in court as the law in her home state protects her from out-of-state legal action. However, lawyers for the AG's office said the lack of response meant she "admitted all of the plaintiffs' allegations of fact establishing liability" under Texas law. Collin County District Court Judge Bryan Gantt's ruled in their favor, finding "an unborn child died as a result of these violations," per the Texas Tribune. It's the first ruling to come in a case challenging telemedicine abortion shield laws, adopted in eight states, per the Times.

As New York is unlikely to enforce the judgment, Texas could request federal court intervention to secure the penalty against Carpenter. But it's not the only state with a case to challenge the shield law. There is also a criminal case out of Louisiana, where Gov. Jeff Landry on Thursday signed a warrant seeking to extradite Carpenter so she can stand trial on charges of criminal abortion, alongside a woman who reportedly requested abortion pills for her daughter. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she would not sign the extradition order "not now, not ever," meaning a legal debate over whether state law can prevent cooperation with another state's legal actions is likely. The Times notes such a case is "widely expected" to reach the highest court in the land. (More abortion stories.)