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Ken Paxton is suing a doctor in New York who provided abortion drugs to a woman here in Texas, resulting in her having to be hospitalized. Paxton says that Dr. Margaret Carpenter mailed the pills from New York to a 20-year-old woman in Collin County.
This is going to be one of the first major tests of the strength of our abortion laws. Attorney Michelle Maples says this will answer the question of, "How are these more restrictive abortion laws going to be enforced in states that have basically the opposite law?"
Maples also says that this case exemplifies how Texas law still hasn't caught up with recent medical developments like telehealth. Maples said, "Telehealth is a somewhat new phenomenon, and we just haven't had the opportunity to litigate this issue. You've got the law trailing behind the times."
The fact that this doctor was in New York, providing medical treatment to Texans, raises some questions, but Maples says Dr. Carpenter is under the jurisdiction of Texas law here. She says the courts in Collin County, where the case has been filed, are likely to agree, but whether the state of New York will enforce any judgments is another question entirely.
The case has also prompted pro-life organizations to speak out as well. Houston-based Texas Right to Life says this is just a sign that the abortion industry hasn't given up in Texas; they've just changed their strategy.
Media and Communications Director Kim Schwartz said, "They've moved to a digital abortion clinic essentially. Selling and mailing abortion pills online or over the phone."
Paxton said in a statement that the health concerns of those pills are one of the reasons he brought this case. He said, "In Texas, we treasure the health and lives of mothers and babies, and this is why out-of-state doctors may not illegally and dangerously prescribe abortion-inducing drugs to Texas residents."