Louisiana grand jury indicted NY doc who prescribed abortion pill to teen
- A New York doctor has been indicted in Louisiana for allegedly prescribing abortion pills online to a teenager.
- This case may be the first of its kind since the overturn of Roe v. Wade.
- Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill stated that sending abortion pills into the state and coercing someone into having an abortion are illegal.
- New York Governor Kathy Hochul said her state would not comply with an extradition request for the doctor.
A Louisiana grand jury Friday indicted a New York doctor accused of prescribing the abortion pill online to a teenager in what appears to be the first case of its kind since Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court.
The West Baton Rouge Parish grand jury indicted Dr. Margaret Daley Carpenter, who could face up to five years in prison if convicted of criminal abortion by means of abortion-inducing drugs, a new law passed last year by Shreveport Republican state Sen. Thomas Pressly.
Louisiana has one of the most strict abortion bans in the country with no exceptions for rape and incest.
Republican Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said her agency investigated the case and brought it to District Attorney Tony Clayton for prosecution.
“It is illegal to send abortion pills into this state and it’s illegal to coerce another into having an abortion," Murrill said in a statement. "I have said it before and I will say it again: We will hold individuals accountable for breaking the law.“
Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul responded that her state "won't comply with an extradition request." New York has a shield law designed to protect providers from out-of-state investigations and prosecutions for sending abortion pills to patients.
"Louisiana is attempting to prosecute a New York doctor for providing reproductive health care," Hochul posted in on the social media site X. "After Roe was overturned, I signed laws to protect patients & doctors from exactly this type of action. We will not comply with an extradition request. We will remain a safe harbor."
Carpenter is co-founder of the New York nonprofit, the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine.
Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the Paste BN Network of Louisiana. Follow him on X @GregHilburn1.