The lawsuit, filed Dec. 12, accuses Margaret Carpenter, MD, of prescribing mifepristone and misoprostol to a 20-year-old Texas patient in May, in violation of Texas state law. The woman allegedly took the medications when she was nine weeks pregnant and began to experience severe bleeding. She was taken to the hospital by the man who impregnated her, who had not been aware she was pregnant or seeking an abortion.
Texas law prohibits a physician or medical supplier from providing any abortion-inducing drugs by courier, delivery or mail service. Dr. Carpenter, the founder of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine, does not hold a license in the state, which prohibits telemedicine services from physicians without a Texas license. Texas law also prohibits prosecuting the person who undergoes the abortion, according to a Dec. 13 report by The Texas Tribune.
A violation of Texas’ near-total abortion ban comes with a up to life in prison and the lawsuit seeks fines of $100,000 for each violation of the law. The lawsuit marks the first conflict between state abortion laws, as New York has a shield law that protects providers from out-of-state investigations and prosecutions. The shield law has allegedly served as “implicit permission” for physicians to mail abortion pills to more heavily regulated states.
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