BATON ROUGE, La. — A New York physician was indicted by a Louisiana grand jury on Friday for allegedly prescribing an abortion tablet on-line within the Deep South state, which has one of many strictest near-total abortion bans within the nation.
Grand jurors on the District Court docket for the Parish of West Baton Rouge issued an indictment towards Dr. Margaret Carpenter; her firm, Nightingale Medical, PC; and a 3rd particular person. All three had been charged with legal abortion by way of abortion-inducing medication, a felony.
The case seems to be the primary occasion of legal expenses towards a physician accused of sending abortion capsules to a different state, at the least because the U.S. Supreme Court docket overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 and opened the door for states to have strict anti-abortion legal guidelines.
Carpenter was additionally sued by the Texas legal professional normal in December below related allegations of sending capsules to that state. That case didn’t contain legal expenses.
Carpenter didn’t instantly return a message.
The indictment comes simply months after Louisiana turned the primary state with a legislation to reclassify each mifepristone and misoprostol as “managed harmful substances.” The medication are nonetheless allowed, however medical personnel must undergo additional steps to entry them.
Underneath the laws, if somebody knowingly possesses mifepristone or misoprostol and not using a legitimate prescription for any objective, they could possibly be fined as much as $5,000 and despatched to jail for one to 5 years. The legislation carves out protections for pregnant ladies who receive the drug and not using a prescription to tackle their very own.
For the reason that fall of Roe v. Wade, Louisiana has had a near-total abortion ban, with none exceptions for rape or incest. Underneath the legislation, physicians convicted of performing an unlawful abortion, together with one with capsules, withstand 15 years in jail, $200,000 in fines and the lack of their medical license.
“Make no mistake, since Roe v Wade was overturned, we’ve witnessed a disturbing sample of interference with ladies’s rights,” the Abortion Coalition of Telemedicine, the place Carpenter is among the founders, stated in a press release. “It’s no secret america has a historical past of violence and harassment towards abortion suppliers, and this state-sponsored effort to prosecute a physician offering secure and efficient care ought to alarm everybody.”
Friday’s indictment could possibly be the primary direct take a look at of New York’s protect legal guidelines, that are meant to guard prescribers who use telehealth to offer abortion capsules to sufferers in states the place abortion is banned.
“We at all times knew that overturning Roe v. Wade wasn’t the top of the highway for anti-abortion politicians. That’s why I labored with the Legislature to go nation-leading legal guidelines to guard suppliers and sufferers,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul stated in a ready launch.
Legal professional Normal Letitia James, who would implement the protect legislation, didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
Tablets have develop into the commonest means of abortion within the U.S., accounting for practically two-thirds of them by 2023. They’re additionally on the middle of political and authorized motion over abortion. In January, one decide let three states proceed to problem federal authorities approvals for the way one of many medication normally concerned may be prescribed.