NY county clerk refuses to file Texas’ fine for doctor accused of prescribing abortion pills

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.

Republican Texas State Attorney General Ken Paxton said he was outraged by the refusal and signaled he would take action.

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“New York is shredding the Constitution to hide lawbreakers from justice, and it must end,” Paxton said on X. “I will not stop my efforts to enforce Texas’s pro-life laws that protect our unborn children and mothers.”

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.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James also praised Bruck and said her office “will always defend New York’s medical professionals and the people they serve.”

Bruck became acting county clerk last year after a resignation and has been endorsed by county Democrats for election to the post. As county clerk, he has an administrative role in court filings.

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.

Also in Texas, a Waller County judge issued a temporary injunction preventing a network of Houston-area clinics from reopening. The clinics were operated by a midwife accused by state authorities of performing illegal abortions. The ruling extends a temporary restraining order that shut down the clinics last week.

Maria Margarita Rojas has been charged by Paxton’s office with providing an illegal abortion and practicing medicine without a license. Two other individuals have also been charged. The charges in the case are the first time authorities in Texas have filed criminal counts under the state’s near-total abortion ban.

The attorney general’s office has filed a lawsuit that’s seeking to shut down three clinics northwest of Houston that Rojas operated and that authorities allege performed illegal abortion procedures.

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Associated Press reporter Juan Lozano in Houston contributed to this report.