BATON ROUGE, La. — A New York doctor is wanted for arrest after a Louisiana grand jury charged him on Friday. He is accused of giving abortion pills online to a pregnant girl in Louisiana, which has very strict laws against abortion.
Grand jurors at the District Court for West Baton Rouge have all agreed to charge Dr. Margaret Carpenter, her business Nightingale Medical, and the mother of the child. All three were accused of committing a serious crime by using drugs to cause an abortion.
An arrest warrant was also made for Carpenter’s mother, but her name hasn’t been released to protect the child’s identity. District Attorney Tony Clayton informed The Associated Press that the mother gave herself up to the cops on Friday.
This seems to be the first time a doctor has faced criminal charges for sending abortion pills to another state since the U.S. Supreme Court ended Roe v. Wade in 2022, allowing states to enforce strict anti-abortion laws.
“We expect Dr. Carpenter to come to Louisiana and respond to these charges. If a jury of 12 people finds her innocent, then that’s the end of it,” Clayton said.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in a social media video, “I will never hand this doctor over to Louisiana, no matter what.” This suggests there might be a court fight between the two states.
Last year, a woman from Port Allen, Louisiana, asked Carpenter for abortion medicine online for her daughter, but her daughter’s age is not mentioned. Clayton said the request was only made through a form and there was no talk with the girl.
A mix of pills was sent to the woman who told her daughter to take them, Clayton said.
After taking the drug, the girl had a medical emergency alone, called 911, and was taken to the hospital for treatment. While reacting to an emergency, a police officer discovered some pills. After looking into it further, they found out that a doctor in New York had provided the drugs and reported this information to Clayton’s office.
It’s not clear how many weeks pregnant the girl was.
“The (adult) mother has since been arrested, but the other person we believe is just as culpable here is the person who sat in an office, wrapped a box of pills, put a stamp on the box and mailed it to the state of Louisiana for a child to take,” Clayton said.
In December, the Texas attorney general sued Carpenter for allegedly sending pills to the state. That case didn’t have any criminal charges.
Carpenter did not reply right away to the AP’s message.
The arrest happened a few months after Louisiana became the first state to make mifepristone and misoprostol classified as “controlled dangerous substances.” The drugs are still permitted, but medical staff need to take additional steps to get them.
According to the law, if a person has medicine without a proper prescription, they could face a fine of up to $5,000 and a prison sentence of one to five years. The rule protects pregnant women who get the drug without a prescription to use it by themselves.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, a Republican, stated on Friday, “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: We will make sure people are held responsible for breaking the law.”
Both groups against abortion and those supporting reproductive rights shared their opinions on social media about the accusation.
Chasity Wilson, the executive head of the Louisiana Abortion Fund, said that we should not let people who oppose abortion prevent us from getting essential healthcare. “Extremists hope this case will cause a chilling effect, further tying the hands of doctors who took an oath to care for their patients.”
Since Roe v. Wade ended, Louisiana has almost completely banned abortions with no exceptions for rape or incest. Doctors found guilty of doing illegal abortions, including those using pills, can get up to 15 years in jail, face fines of $200,000, and lose their medical license.
“The Abortion Coalition of Telemedicine, which Carpenter co-founded, stated, ‘Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, we have seen a troubling trend of interference with women’s rights.'” “The United States has a history of violence and harassment towards abortion providers, and the government’s move to prosecute a doctor who offers safe care should worry everyone.”
Friday’s arrest might be the first real challenge to New York’s shield laws. These laws are meant to protect doctors who offer abortion pills through telehealth to patients in states where abortion is illegal. New York Attorney General Letitia James said, “We won’t let wrongdoers interfere with our healthcare providers’ ability to give important care.”
James said, “This unfair attempt from Louisiana to use the law against providers from other states is wrong and not in line with American values.”
By 2023, pills are the most popular way to have an abortion in the U.S., making up about two-thirds of cases. They are also involved in important political and legal discussions about abortion. In January, a judge allowed three states to keep questioning the federal government’s decisions on how a commonly used drug can be given.
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