New law aims to stop red states from prosecuting NY abortion doctors

On the heels of a Louisiana grand jury indictment against a New York telehealth provider, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation Monday that would anonymize the names of doctors providing abortion medication, listing the name of the medical practice rather than the physician, and announced an agreement with the state Legislature to amend the legislation in a way that would commit pharmacies to follow the bill’s guidance. 

On Friday, Margaret Carpenter, a New Paltz doctor operating under New York’s existing abortion shield laws, was indicted by a Louisiana state grand jury after allegedly sending a Louisiana woman a prescription for pills that would induce an abortion. Prosecutors alleged that the woman who received the prescription was coerced by her mother into terminating the pregnancy and charged Carpenter with violating the southern state’s near-total abortion ban.

At the bill signing ceremony on Monday, Hochul said that she would not allow Carpenter to be extradited to Louisiana to face trial. “I basically said there's no way in hell I'll ever respond to requests to extradite this individual and face criminal charges,” Hochul said. “Never, under any circumstances, will I sign an extradition agreement that sends our doctors into harm's way to be prosecuted as a criminal for simply following their oath.”

The governor suggested that the bill she signed on Monday could have prevented the authorities in Louisiana from identifying and indicting Carpenter. “You know how they found this doctor? The doctor’s name was on the prescription bottle. That’s what they were looking for to identify this individual,” Hochul said. 

The bill that Hochul signed was originally introduced by state Sen. Shelley Mayer and Assembly Member Karines Reyes in October. It creates a narrow exception to the general state law that requires that medical prescriptions include the name of the prescribing doctor. “At the prescriber’s request, the prescription label for mifepristone, misoprostol and their generic alternatives may include the name of the prescribing health care practice instead of the name of the prescriber,” the bill reads.

One of the bill’s co-sponsors was state Sen. Michelle Hinchey, who has a personal connection to the situation, as Carpenter is one of her constituents and a family friend. “This doctor and many others are stepping up, and so it is our responsibility to step up for her and those that are following in her wake to make sure that we are doing everything we can to provide everyone across this country with the health care that they deserve,” Hinchey said at Monday’s bill signing ceremony. “This bill is so important in this moment, so is the work that we are all doing together.”

Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, who is seen as a potential challenger to Hochul, was also in Albany on Monday. When asked by City & State whether he agreed with the governor’s decision not to extradite Carpenter, Lawler mentioned his support of leaving decisions on abortion medication up to the states and said that Hochul is following the law in place. “I think the challenge here is that she has invited New York to be the abortion capital of the world,” Lawler said. “And this was one of the issues that I raised when that bill came up.” Asked whether he would try to repeal the law if he were governor, Lawler simply said, “It’s existing law.”

The Louisiana grand jury’s attempt to prosecute Carpenter is a test of New York’s shield law, which is supposed to prevent telehealth providers based in New York who prescribe abortion medicine from being prosecuted in other states where abortion is outlawed. The exact circumstances of Carpenter’s legal situation remain murky, especially if she leaves New York state. Outside of recommending Carpenter not visit Louisiana any time soon, Hochul said she wasn’t sure what sort of protection would be available to Carpenter should she leave New York, though she added that her staff would enquire further. 

As it stands, though, there isn’t a legal mechanism in New York that would lend itself to a physician being sent to face charges in a state with an abortion ban. Current federal law cannot compel a governor to honor an extradition order from another state. Short of sending bounty hunters to New York, there may be no way for authorities in Louisiana to force Carpenter to stand trial in Louisiana against her will. That said, there is no telling what could happen if Louisiana authorities try to elevate the issue to the federal court system, which has been systematically packed with conservative judges over the last few years, and ultimately the Supreme Court. 

Tony Clayton, the Louisiana district attorney who brought the case against Carpenter, could not be reached for comment. The Louisiana law that Carpenter is accused of violating carries a prison sentence of one to five years and a fine of between $5,000 and $50,000.