Arrest Warrant Issued For NY Doctor Who Prescribed Abortion Pills

NEW YORK — An arrest warrant has been issued for a New York doctor indicted on Friday by a Louisiana grand jury on charges of prescribing abortion pills online to a pregnant minor in the state.

The mother of the patient, who was also indicted, has already turned herself in to authorities, District Attorney Tony Clayton told The Associated Press.

"We expect Dr. Carpenter to come to Louisiana and answer to these charges, and if 12 people [a jury] think she’s innocent then, let it go," Clayton told the AP.

Grand jurors at the District Court for the Parish of West Baton Rouge issued the indictment against Ulster County physician Margaret Carpenter, charging her with criminal abortion by means of abortion-inducing drugs.

Officials in New York reacted swiftly to condemn the felony grand jury indictment, and vowed to protect any and all New York doctors who legally provide medical care, including abortion care.

"Earlier today, a New York doctor was indicted in Louisiana for using telemedicine to prescribe abortion medication to a patient," Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement on Friday. "That’s right: a doctor is being prosecuted for providing basic health care to her patient."

New York's top law enforcement official described the decision by Louisiana prosecutors to pursue charges in stark terms.

"Abortion care is health care. The criminalization of abortion care is a direct and brazen attack on Americans' bodily autonomy and their right to reproductive freedom," New York Attorney General James said in a fiery statement. "This cowardly attempt out of Louisiana to weaponize the law against out-of-state providers is unjust and un-American. We will not allow bad actors to undermine our providers’ ability to deliver critical care. Medication abortion is safe, effective, and necessary, and New York will ensure that it remains available to all Americans who need it."

According to the AP, the case appears to be the first time criminal charges have been pursued against a doctor accused of sending abortion pills to another state, since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Carpenter was sued by the Texas attorney general in December in similar circumstances for sending pills to that state. That case does not involve criminal charges.

Gov. Hochul said while the news from Louisiana was unfortunate, it was not wholly unanticipated.

"When Roe was overturned, I took action to protect New York women and doctors from other states trying to rip their rights away," the governor said in a statement released on Saturday morning. "A court in Louisiana has put our new laws to the test. Let me be clear: I will fight tooth and nail to protect reproduction freedom."

In the meantime, Hochul said she will block any attempts by Louisiana to force the doctor to come to the state to face charges.

"I will never, under any circumstances, turn this doctor over to the state of Louisiana under any extradition requests," the governor said on social media.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.