The Texas attorney general filed a lawsuit against a New York doctor who provided abortion pills, proving that women are not safe anywhere in the country.
This piece was originally published on Bonnie Fuller’s “Your Body Your Choice” Substack.
A new front in the war on women is being led by right-wing extremist Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who went on a shooting rampage after a New York doctor who prescribed and sent abortion pills to a 20-year-old Texas woman. are. In a first-of-its-kind lawsuit, Paxton is suing Dr. Margaret Carpenter in Collin County, Texas, court for $100,000 for allowing her to perform abortions in Texas…Dr. Carpenter is suing Dr. Carpenter in New York Despite serving as a doctor in , and reveals what she does. In New York, abortion pills are legal for women in all 50 states as a result of the state’s shield law.
We knew that anti-abortion forces in Republican-controlled states would never be satisfied with just shutting down women’s rights in their own states. Similarly, Mr. Paxton is not content to simply scare away a Texas gynecologist who violated his state’s extreme anti-abortion laws. Those who violate Texas’ ban, including doctors who simply treat a severe miscarriage according to their doctor’s instructions and then misinterpret it as an abortion, face 99 years in prison and loss of their medical licenses. .
In addition to being an abortion provider, Carpenter is a co-founder of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine (ACT). Her organization has helped many women in anti-abortion states, including Texas, decide for themselves whether to continue their pregnancy.
Carpenter and his partner, Dr. Linda Prine, and Julie Kay, a former ACLU attorney who successfully argued cases to overturn Ireland’s abortion ban, founded ACT after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. It has prompted 20 Republican-led states to move at lightning speed to pass dangerous abortion bans, many of which target rape, incest, or the mother’s actual medical condition without exception. ACT organized doctors willing to provide abortion drugs via telemedicine to women confined in these states (although ACT and groups like it do not send drugs to women in all 50 states). Masu).
ACT’s work is literally a lifesaver for women. But saving women’s lives is not a priority for Republican lawmakers in Texas, even after reports that at least three young healthy women in the state died during miscarriages during much-needed pregnancies. It was. Instead, Paxton is extending his Texas tentacles to New York state and trying to drag Carpenter into state court.
This move is certainly an attempt to scare Carpenter and other doctors who provide abortion drugs through telemedicine into abandoning their mission to help pregnant women. Conveniently, Paxton chose to file this lawsuit after the Nov. 5 election, which could have influenced how some voters choose their president.
It also appears to be part of a larger anti-abortion strategy to challenge state-level shield laws that protect health care providers from attacks for providing abortion drugs to patients in other states. In addition to New York, five other states have telehealth provider protection laws: Massachusetts, Washington, Colorado, Vermont, and California.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Shield Act into law in 2023 to protect the state’s abortion providers, especially from aggressive anti-abortion AG groups like Paxton, warning: We are not going to help you because some health care providers have prescribed abortion pills. He will not cooperate with any out-of-state investigation. We are not going to extradite or issue subpoenas. Continuing with this extreme behavior will keep you on your way to hell. But we will do our best to stop you. ”
“They want to take away his medical license, sue him, put him in jail and convict him of murder,” she continued. “This is New York. We don’t respond well to threats. … They can’t stop New York, and that’s how we fight back.”
Since Paxton filed his lawsuit, New York Attorney General Letitia James has also fired back: “If Texas’ attorney general were actually ‘pro-life,’ he would do whatever he could to save the life of a mother facing a dire medical emergency.” Instead, he is once again committing dangerous, malicious and inhumane actions that endanger the lives of far too many people. I’m disgusted by his disregard for the safety of Americans, but don’t get me wrong. I will fight back and take action to protect access to this life-saving medical care. ”
Hochul and James appear ready to join the fight in Carpenter’s place. But this may just be the beginning of Paxton’s first lawsuit against doctors in blue states. He could fire more. Paxton may also be aiming to take the Texas v. New York legal battle all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
But on the other hand, the Telemedicine Abortion Coalition reacted defiantly to Ken Paxton’s lawsuit in a statement sent to me.
“Ken Paxton has prioritized anti-abortion policies over women’s health and well-being and is seeking to shut down telemedicine abortions nationwide. By threatening access to safe and effective reproductive health care, He is putting women in direct danger.
“Let’s be clear: The FDA-approved drugs in the two-step protocol for medical abortion have been proven safe and effective around the world for decades. It is essential for women’s health management.
“Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, we have seen attempts to further interfere and erode a person’s right to make decisions about their own bodies. They are essential to protecting and enabling abortion care, regardless of ability to pay. They are fundamental to ensuring everyone has access to reproductive health care as a human right.”
Whether it’s Paxton, President-elect Donald Trump, or RFK Jr., there are many Republicans itching to end abortion access nationwide. It’s about control – controlling you. And Paxton’s opposition to New York’s abortion protection law is a new front. Please be careful.