New York county clerk again blocks Texas from fining abortionist

Acting Ulster County Clerk Taylor Bruck on Monday again refused to enforce a fine levied by the state of Texas against New York abortionist Margaret Carpenter. A district judge in Texas earlier this year ordered Carpenter to pay more than $100,000 for allegedly prescribing abortion drugs via telemedicine to a woman who lived near Dallas. Bruck in March declined to enforce the fine and refused to allow Texas to file a summons for Carpenter to comply with the Texas ruling. Texas has strict laws protecting unborn babies from abortion, and prohibits physicians from prescribing drugs to patients via telehealth unless they are licensed to practice medicine in the state.

What else did the judge say in his ruling? In his decision this week, Bruck said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton contacted him last week asking him to reconsider his earlier decision. Bruck held firm on his rejection and cited the state’s so-called shield law intended to protect abortionists from prosecution by other states.

What is the history of the case? Paxton late last year sued Carpenter for providing abortion pills through the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine. Carpenter is a co-founder of the organization that helps abortionists prescribe mifepristone and misoprostol online. A state district judge in February ordered Carpenter to pay the fine and to stop prescribing the drugs to women in Texas. A Louisiana grand jury in January indicted Carpenter on felony charges for prescribing the pills to a pregnant minor in the state. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul refused to sign an order to bring Carpenter to Louisiana to face prosecution.

Dig deeper: Read my report about the case Texas brought against Carpenter.