A Louisiana grand jury indicted a doctor from New York on Jan. 31 for allegedly prescribing an abortion pill online to a minor in the state, where abortion is almost completely illegal.
Dr. Margaret Carpenter, her company Nightingale Medical, PC, and the teen’s mother—whose identity had been kept private—were indicted by a West Baton Rouge Parish grand jury on charges of criminal abortion by means of abortion-inducting drugs, according to multiple reports. The teenager’s name and age have not been disclosed.
The lawsuit marks the first instance where criminal charges have been filed against a physician accused of prescribing and sending abortion medication to a resident living outside their area of practice.
Carpenter allegedly prescribed and sent the abortion pill to Louisiana upon the request of the teenager’s mother, who contacted her via the internet. Details regarding the duration of the teen’s pregnancy remain unclear.
“That’s right: a doctor is being prosecuted for providing basic health care to her patient,” the governor stated. “It’s more critical than ever for states to step up and protect reproductive freedom — and I’ll never back down from this fight.”
“I have said it before and I will say it again: We will hold individuals accountable for breaking the law,” the attorney general stated.
The Epoch Times has reached out to Carpenter for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
The law criminalizes possession of mifepristone and misoprostol without a valid prescription, adding the two drugs to the list of Schedule IV drugs under the state’s Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Law. Penalties for violating the law could result in fines and jail time.
“The case out of Louisiana against a licensed NY doctor is the latest in a series of threats that jeopardizes women’s access to reproductive healthcare across the country,” it stated. “This state-sponsored effort to prosecute a doctor providing safe, effective care should alarm everyone.”
Paxton alleged that the doctor provided illegal abortion drugs via telemedicine “that ended the life of an unborn child and resulted in serious complications for the mother, who then required medical intervention.” The attorney general asked that the court enjoin the doctor from violating state law and hand down a penalty of $100,000 for each violation.
Pills have become the most common means of abortion in the United States, accounting for nearly two-thirds of them by 2023 and are also at the center of political and legal action. In January, a judge let three states continue to challenge federal government approvals for how one of the drugs usually involved can be prescribed.
