AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a legal petition against an acting New York county clerk to ensure a “radical abortionist” who sent abortion-inducing drugs to his state is held accountable.
In December, Paxton sued Dr. Margaret Carpenter for sending abortion-inducing drugs to a Collin County resident. Paxton’s office says that action resulted in the killing of an unborn child and serious medical complications for the mother. With that filing, Paxton secured a $100,000 penalty and permanent injunction against Carpenter.
But, Paxton’s office now says the office of Taylor Bruck, the acting county clerk for Ulster County in New York, has plainly rejected any attempt to enforce the judgment and authorize collection of the penalty.
So Paxton now has filed a petition seeking a writ of mandamus to ensure Carpenter pays the penalty for breaking the law.
“Dr. Carpenter is a radical abortionist who must face justice, not get legal protection from New York liberals intent on ending the lives of as many unborn children as they can,” Paxton said. “No matter where they reside, pro-abortion extremists who send drugs designed to kill the unborn into Texas will face the full force of our state’s pro-life laws.”
New York is one of 18 states (along with the District of Columbia) that have abortion shield laws that are meant to give abortion providers some form of protection for providing care to patients who live in states with restrictions on abortion
New York officials – including Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James – have worked to protect Carpenter from extradition and other legal issues.
“Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has repeatedly tried to file a judgment against a New York doctor and our response has been clear: hell no,” Hochul said in a statement.
Bruck also doesn’t seem to be budging.
“The rejection stands,” Bruck said in a statement. “Resubmitting the same materials does not alter the outcome.”
In the original complaint, Paxton’s office Top of Formsays Carpenter, who also is the founder of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine, unlawfully provided the Collin County woman with abortion-inducing drugs that ended the life of an unborn child and resulted in serious complications for the mother, who then required medical intervention.
Texas laws prohibit a physician or medical supplier from providing any abortion-inducing drugs by courier, delivery, or mail service. Additionally, no physician may treat patients or prescribe Texas residents medicine through telehealth services unless the doctor holds a valid Texas medical license.
Paxton said Carpenter knowingly treated Texas residents despite not being a licensed Texas physician and not being authorized to practice telemedicine in Texas.
The court ruled Carpenter violated these Texas laws and issued a $100,000 civil penalty in addition to a permanent injunction preventing any future violations. This was the first case in the nation to hold doctors accountable for unlawfully attempting to push abortion-inducing drugs in a state where they are illegal.
