Texas AG Sues New York Doctor for Prescribing Abortion-Inducing Drugs Via Telemedicine

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at a news conference in Dallas on June 22. Tony Gutierrez/AP Photo

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit on Friday against a New York physician and founder of a pro-abortion coalition, saying that she had prescribed abortion drugs via telemedicine to a Texas resident. Her actions violated Texas law because she was not licensed to practice medicine in the state, he said.

According to Paxton, Dr. Margaret Carpenter, founder of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine (ACT), 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.”

Paxton asked that the court enjoin the doctor from violating state law and hand down a penalty of $100,000 for each violation.

The Epoch Times contacted ACT for a comment from Carpenter on the allegations in the lawsuit.

Texas law prohibits out-of-state physicians from practicing medicine in the state, which includes out-of-state practice through telemedicine, Paxton noted in the complaint.

In addition, in Texas, a physician is prohibited from sending “any abortion-inducing drugs” by mail.

“Before a physician provides an abortion-inducing drug, the physician must examine the pregnant woman in person and such physician must ensure that the physician does not provide an abortion-inducing drug for a pregnant woman whose pregnancy is more than 49 days of gestational age,” Paxton said.

According to Texas law, abortions are banned after a heartbeat can be detected—which is normally around six weeks gestation—unless there is a medical emergency. There is no exception for pregnancy resulting from rape or incest.

The challenged law was passed in 2021, before the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022. After that ruling, blue states like New York began adopting abortion shield laws to protect physicians who provide abortions to patients who have traveled from states where it is illegal.

These laws also protect physicians like Carpenter who provides telemedicine services.

Mary Ruth Ziegler, a University of California law professor, said that a challenge to the shield laws was inevitable and could stop mailed abortion-drug prescriptions.

“Will doctors be more afraid to mail pills into Texas, even if they might be protected by shield laws because they don’t know if they’re protected by shield laws?” she said.

ACT said on its website that it treats patients in all 50 states through telemedicine.

Paxton said the 20-year-old resident of Collin County, Texas, became pregnant in May 2024 and secretly proceeded to use ACT’s telemedicine services without informing the baby’s father.

Carpenter prescribed her mifepristone and misoprostol.

According to Paxton, in July she began experiencing “hemorrhaging or severe bleeding.”

With the child at nine weeks, Paxton said the mother suffered an “adverse event or abortion complication” that “resulted in a medical abortion.”

“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.

New York Attorney General Letitia James issued a statement in response to Paxton’s lawsuit, saying that she will defend abortion, a “legal and protected right” in the state.

“As other states move to attack those who provide or obtain abortion care, New York is proud to be a safe haven for abortion access,” she said. “We will always protect our providers from unjust attempts to punish them for doing their job and we will never cower in the face of intimidation or threats.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.