A female New York doctor will be prosecuted for allegedly prescribing abortion medication via telemedicine in Louisiana.
Dr. Margaret Carpenter was indicted in Louisiana Friday after allegedly using telemedicine to prescribe abortion medication to a patient.
Carpenter, her company and an associate were charged with felony criminal abortion by means of abortion-inducing drugs, according to The Associated Press.
Mifepristone and Misoprostol pills (Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
It is not the first time Carpenter faced accusations of unlawful abortions.
Texas filed a lawsuit against her in December, claiming she sent abortion pills to the state, the AP reported. She was not charged.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul released a statement after a grand jury at the District Court for the Parish of West Baton Rouge in Louisiana made the decision, showing support for the doctor and calling the act “providing basic health care.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul speaks during the Democratic National Convention in August in Chicago. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
“We always knew that overturning Roe v. Wade wasn’t the end of the road for anti-abortion politicians,” Hochul wrote. “That’s why I worked with the Legislature to pass nation-leading laws to protect providers and patients. It’s more critical than ever for states to step up and protect reproductive freedom — and I’ll never back down from this fight.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James also released a statement after the indictment, echoing the idea that abortion care should be considered healthcare.
James called the criminalization of abortion care a “direct and brazen attack on Americans’ bodily autonomy and their right to reproductive freedom.”
OGLES AND OTHER REPUBLICANS PUSH FEDERAL BAN ON CHEMICAL ABORTIONS
“This cowardly attempt out of Louisiana to weaponize the law against out-of-state providers is unjust and un-American,” James wrote in the statement. “We will not allow bad actors to undermine our providers’ ability to deliver critical care. Medication abortion is safe, effective, and necessary, and New York will ensure that it remains available to all Americans who need it.”
Louisiana prohibits the use of telemedicine to provide medication for abortions.
Kristi Noem, recently sworn in as Department of Homeland Security secretary, has historically warned against telemedicine abortions, citing concerns over informed decisions.
Kristi Noem, former governor of South Dakota and the nominee for secretary of Homeland Security, speaks during her confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., Jan. 17. (Getty Images)
“For years and years, we’ve heard liberals talk about this decision on abortion being between a woman and her doctor,” Noem said in 2021, while serving as governor of South Dakota. “Now they’re changing their complete argument to now this can be a decision between a woman and virtually any stranger over the phone – that she doesn’t even have to prove it’s a doctor … or an informed decision.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Louisiana imposes more restrictions on abortion providers than almost any other state, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights.
This appears to be the first time since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 that a doctor was charged criminally for sending abortion pills to another state, according to the AP.
