Texas sues abortionist who prescribed drugs by telehealth

The lawsuit was filed Thursday in the District Court of Collins County, Texas, according to the state attorney general’s office. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton alleges that New York-based Margaret Daley Carpenter violated several provisions of Texas law when she prescribed an abortion drug regimen of mifepristone and misoprostol for a 20-year-old woman. In June, the woman was taken to the hospital with a hemorrhage or severe bleeding, according to the lawsuit. In addition to the mother’s complications, the procedure resulted in the death of her 9-week-old unborn child, Paxton said.

What provisions of state law did Carpenter violate, according to the lawsuit? Texas state law prohibits abortion at any stage of pregnancy, with exceptions in cases when the pregnant woman’s life is at risk, or when the pregnancy threatens the substantial impairment of a major bodily function.

Carpenter is the co-medical director and founder of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine. The organization promotes drug-induced abortions, characterizing them as safe, timely, and affordable via telemedicine. Carpenter prescribed the abortion drugs to the young Texas woman from New York through an online consultation, according to the lawsuit.

The prescription violated multiple provisions of state law, according to the litigation. Carpenter is not licensed in Texas as a doctor and was not authorized to practice telemedicine in the state of Texas, as required by state law, according to Paxton’s office. Texas law also prohibits the distribution of abortifacients via delivery or mail service.

What is the lawsuit asking for? Texas is requesting that the court impose a temporary injunction barring Carpenter from prescribing abortion-inducing drugs in Texas, pending a trial seeking a permanent order for her to stop. It also requests civil penalties of $100,000 per violation, as well as attorney fees.

What does Carpenter have to say? In a written statement to WORLD, the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine accused Paxton of prioritizing his agenda against abortion over the health and well-being of women. The organization insisted that mifepristone and misoprostol are FDA-approved and safe for use in the context of abortion. It went on to characterize chemical abortion as “an essential part of women’s healthcare,” and said it should be accessible to women regardless of their zip code or ability to pay.

Dig deeper: Listen to Leah Savas’ report for The World and Everything in It on a mother who changed her mind after starting a chemical abortion.