Photo: Getty Images
A New Paltz doctor, Dr. Margaret Carpenter, has been indicted by a Louisiana grand jury for allegedly prescribing an abortion pill online to a minor in Port Allen, Louisiana. The indictment, issued by the District Court for the Parish of West Baton Rouge, charges Dr. Carpenter, her company Nightingale Medical, PC, and a third person with criminal abortion by means of abortion-inducing drugs, a felony. This case is believed to be the first instance of criminal charges against a doctor for sending abortion pills to another state since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, allowing states to enforce strict anti-abortion laws.
Louisiana, known for its stringent abortion laws, recently reclassified mifepristone and misoprostol as controlled dangerous substances. Under the new legislation, possessing these drugs without a valid prescription could result in fines up to $5,000 and imprisonment for one to five years. Physicians convicted of performing illegal abortions, including those using pills, face up to 15 years in prison and $200,000 in fines.
Dr. Carpenter was previously sued by the Texas attorney general for similar allegations, though that case did not involve criminal charges. The indictment in Louisiana could test New York's shield laws, which aim to protect prescribers using telehealth to provide abortion pills in states where abortion is banned. New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James have expressed their commitment to defending these laws.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill stated, "We will hold individuals accountable for breaking the law." Meanwhile, the Abortion Coalition of Telemedicine, co-founded by Dr. Carpenter, criticized the indictment as a state-sponsored effort to prosecute a doctor providing safe and effective care.
As pills become the most common means of abortion in the U.S., accounting for nearly two-thirds of abortions by 2023, they remain at the center of political and legal debates. The outcome of this case could have significant implications for telemedicine and abortion rights across the country.