Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is taking legal action to force a New York county clerk to enforce a court ruling against a doctor who prescribed abortion pills to a woman near Dallas — and it’s sparking a fierce showdown between two states with very different takes on reproductive rights.
On Monday, Paxton filed a petition asking for a writ of mandamus to compel Ulster County Acting Clerk Taylor Bruck to file a Texas judgment in New York state court. The judgment stems from a case against Dr. Margaret Carpenter, a New York-based physician who allegedly prescribed abortion-inducing medication to a 20-year-old woman in Texas. That woman later experienced serious complications, and Texas officials say the prescription violated state law, which bans mailing or receiving abortion pills.
Carpenter was hit with a $113,000 fine by a Collin County judge in February. But in New York, where state law includes telehealth shield protections, enforcing that ruling isn’t so simple. Bruck has already denied Paxton’s request twice, saying he has to follow New York law, which explicitly shields abortion providers from out-of-state legal action.
Now Paxton is trying to force his hand. “Dr. Carpenter is a radical abortionist who must face justice, not get legal protection from New York liberals intent on ending the lives of as many unborn children as they can,” he said in a statement, reported Attorney General. “Pro-abortion extremists who send drugs designed to kill the unborn in Texas will face the full force of our state’s pro-life laws.”
Bruck responded Monday, confirming he’s facing legal action but staying firm in his role as clerk and defender of New York’s shield law. “While pending litigation limits what I can share, I want to make clear that it is an honor to serve Ulster County in this role, and I am especially grateful to do so at such a critical moment… for the protection of fundamental rights under New York law,” he said.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul didn’t hold back. Her response to Paxton’s efforts was crystal clear: “hell no”, reported to the Hill.
“These extremists are determined to punish a New York doctor for providing safe, legal abortion care,” Hochul said. “It’s pathetic. It’s dangerous. And it won’t happen on our watch. They picked the wrong state and the wrong governor — and I’ll never stop fighting to protect women’s reproductive freedom.”
Carpenter, who practices in New Paltz and leads the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine, is also facing separate legal issues in Louisiana over abortion pills allegedly prescribed to a pregnant minor. But Hochul has made it clear she won’t even entertain the idea of extraditing her. “I will never, under any circumstances, turn this doctor over,” she said.
New York passed its shield law in June 2023, one year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. And earlier this year, Hochul signed another law allowing doctors in the state to prescribe abortion medication to out-of-state patients anonymously.
The clash between Texas and New York is just the latest in a growing battle over abortion access, with both sides digging in and neither showing signs of backing down.