A New York county clerk on Thursday refused to enforce a Texas court fineagainst a New York doctor accused of mailing abortion pills across state lines – a move that tees up a dramatic showdown between states that protect abortion rights and those that have banned the procedure. The clash will probably end up in front of the US supreme court.
In December, the Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, sued Dr Margaret Carpenter in a Texas court for allegedly mailing abortion pills to the Lone Star state, which bans virtually all abortions. After Carpenter did not show up to a court hearing earlier this year, a Texas judge ruled against her, ordering her to pay a $113,000 penalty and stop sending abortion pills to Texas.
New York has, however, enacted a “shield law” that forbids state officials from extraditing abortion providers to other states or complying with out-of-state court orders. In his statement refusing to enforce the Texas fine, the acting Ulster county clerk Taylor Bruck cited the law.
“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,” Bruck said in a statement.
Paxton’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Texas may challenge New York’s shield law through a lawsuit. Although a number of blue states have passed shield laws since the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade in 2022, they have never been put to the legal test.
The case will also probably serve as a bellwether for the future of interstate relations between anti-abortion states and pro-abortion rights states. In the years since Roe fell, anti-abortion activists have grown increasingly frustrated over people’s ability to travel across state lines for the procedure and to undergo medication abortions through telehealth. Alabama has threatened to prosecute people who help others travel for out-of-state abortions, while Louisiana has issued a criminal indictment against Carpenter for allegedly prescribing an abortion pill to someone in that state.
New York’s governor, Kathy Hochul, refused Louisiana’s call for extradition. “I will not be signing an extradition order that came from the governor of Louisiana – not now, not ever,” she said last month.
Carpenter has not publicly commented on the case. However, a group she co-founded, Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine Access, has accused Paxton of “putting women directly in harm’s way”.
“Since Roe v Wade was overturned, we have seen attempts to further impede and erode a person’s right to make decisions about their own bodies,” the organization said in a statement after news of Paxton’s lawsuit against Carpenter broke.
“Shield laws are essential in safeguarding and enabling abortion care regardless of a patient’s zip code or ability to pay. They are fundamental to ensuring everyone can access reproductive healthcare as a human right.”
