NY county clerk refuses to file Texas' fine for doctor accused of prescribing abortion pills

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A Texas judge last month ordered Dr. Margaret Carpenter, who practices north of New York City, to pay the penalty for allegedly breaking that state’s law by prescribing abortion medication via telemedicine. Texas issued a fine against a New York doctor who prescribed abortion meds. New York has a shield law that protects doctors. https://www.democraticunderground.com/100219818942#post1
Texas is trying to enforce this fine and New York is ignoring these efforts

Link to tweet

https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/27/new-york-texas-abortion-doctor-pills

A county clerk in New York refused Thursday to file a more than $100,000 judgment from Texas against a doctor accused of prescribing abortion pills to a woman near Dallas, setting up a potential challenge to laws designed to shield abortion providers who serve patients in states with abortion bans.

A Texas judge last month ordered Dr. Margaret Carpenter, who practices north of New York City, to pay the penalty for allegedly breaking that state's law by prescribing abortion medication via telemedicine. The Texas attorney general's office followed up last week by asking a New York court to enforce the default civil judgment, which is $113,000 with attorney and filing fees.

The acting Ulster County clerk refused.

“In accordance with the New York State Shield Law, I have refused this filing and will refuse any similar filings that may come to our office. Since this decision is likely to result in further litigation, I must refrain from discussing specific details about the situation," Acting Clerk Taylor Bruck said in a prepared statement.

New York is among eight states with telemedicine shield laws, which were considered a target for abortion opponents even before the standoff between officials New York and Texas.

Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul last month invoked her state's shield law in rejecting Republican Gov. Jeff Landry’s request to extradite Carpenter to Louisiana, where the doctor was charged with prescribing abortion pills to a pregnant minor.

I am glad that the NY shield law is being given effect

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1. NY Flips TX The Bird In Medication Abortion Suit

This made me smile

Link to tweet

https://abovethelaw.com/2025/03/ny-flips-tx-the-bird-in-medication-abortion-suit/

This morning, a county clerk in New York told Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to pound sand, refusing to domesticate a judgment under the Empire State’s abortion shield law.

The case involves a $130,000 fine levied in absentia against Dr. Margaret Carpenter, the founder and director of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine. Texas alleges that the doctor mailed mifepristone to a 20-year-old woman in Collin County, Texas, who was later turned in by her romantic partner. Dr. Carpenter is also under criminal indictment in Louisiana for helping a woman there.

Under New York’s shield law, passed in 2023 after the Dobbs decision, the state will not cooperate with out-of-state civil or criminal process relating to abortion (as well as gender-affirming care). Last month, the state denied a demand to extradite the doctor to Louisiana, and now it’s refusing to register the civil judgment against her.

“Today, I informed Texas State Attorney General Ken Paxton that the Ulster County Clerk’s Office will not be filing a summary judgment against a New Paltz physician who is facing charges in Texas for providing mifepristone via telehealth to a Texas resident,” Acting Clerk Taylor Bruck said in a statement on the county’s website. “In accordance with the New York State Shield Law, I have refused this filing and will refuse any similar filings that may come to our office.”.....

For his part, Paxton is itching to sue, and his office has already called multiple times demanding an update, despite the state’s 30-day window to domesticate a foreign judgment. He’s got to run again next year, and so the window to get himself in front of the Supreme Court taking on the godless libruls in New York is tight.....

“Texas AG Ken Paxton chose the wrong community to mess with,” agreed Bruck’s US Rep. Pat Ryan. “The Hudson Valley doesn’t back down — we stand for freedom, and together, we will win this fight.”