WPBN: Dr. Margaret Daley Carpenter, a physician based in New York, has been accused of illegally providing abortion drugs to citizens of Texas through the use of telemedicine services, according to a lawsuit that has been registered against her by the state of Texas.
It is the intention of the lawsuit, which was submitted to the Collin County District Court, to prevent Dr. Carpenter from committing any other violations of Texas law and to demand civil fines of at least one hundred thousand dollars for each alleged violation.
In accordance with the allegations made in the lawsuit, Dr. Carpenter, who is authorized to practice medicine in the state of New York but not in the state of Texas, allegedly gave a woman from Collin County, Texas, medicines that induce abortion.
According to the allegations, the drugs, mifepristone and misoprostol, were prescribed by telemedicine without the in-person evaluation that is required by the law in the state of Texas.
The plaintiff, who is named as the State of Texas in the documents filed with the court, asserts that this action violates various state statutes. These statutes include rules that ban physicians who are not licensed to practice medicine in the state of Texas from doing so, as well as laws that prohibit the distribution of abortion pills through the mail or through courier services.
Suggestions Regarding the Case
In accordance with the law of Texas, only licensed medical professionals in the state are permitted to administer medicines that induce abortion, and they are required to do a personal examination prior to doing so. In addition, the state prohibits the transfer of such medications over the mail or through delivery.
The lawsuit asserts that Dr. Carpenter intentionally disregarded these regulations, so placing the lives of women in Texas in jeopardy and infringing the sovereignty of the state.
The focus of the lawsuit is a woman from Collin County who allegedly took the prescribed drugs in the middle of 2024. The lawsuit claims that the lady then sought emergency medical attention after experiencing symptoms, including significant bleeding. The lawsuit was purportedly sparked by the biological father of the unborn child finding the abortion-inducing medications at the woman’s house.
“This is a blatant violation of Texas law,” said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a statement, criticizing Dr. Carpenter’s alleged activities. We are determined to hold people responsible for disregarding our state’s legal system and putting women and unborn children in danger.
Dr. Carpenter’s position as co-director of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine (ACT), which promotes access to telemedicine abortions across the country, is also mentioned in the case. According to the lawsuit, groups such as ACT openly support actions that are illegal in Texas.
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Demands from the Law
The following are sought by the State of Texas:
- A temporary and permanent injunction prohibiting Dr. Carpenter from providing telemedicine services to patients in Texas or writing prescriptions for abortion-inducing medications to Texans.
- Civil Penalties: Each infraction of Texas law has a minimum penalty of $100,000.
- Payment of Legal Fees: This covers the costs of the case’s investigation as well as the lawyer’s fees.
After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, this litigation is the most recent development in the legal disputes over access to abortion.
Texas has enacted some of the most stringent abortion regulations in the country, and this case shows that the state intends to vigorously enforce those regulations, even against providers who are located outside of the state.
