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.
Hochul on Thursday praised Bruck's refusal and said “New York is grateful for his courage and common sense.”
An email seeking comment was sent to the office of Texas State Attorney General Ken Paxton.
A call seeking comment was made to Carpenter, who is the co-medical director and founder of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine. Carpenter did not show up for a hearing in the case in Texas.
