Photo courtesy of the Louisiana Attorney General's Office
Governor Jeff Landry, Attorney General Liz Murrill and district attorney of the 18th Judicial District Tony Clayton, want to bring a doctor from New York to Louisiana to face charges for allegedly sending abortion pills to a family in West Baton Rouge Parish that terminated a teenager’s pregnancy.
But Legal Analyst Franz Borghardt says laws in New York protect Doctor Margaret Carpenter from out of state prosecutions for sending abortion pills to patients.
“The Governor of New York is saying, no we don’t have to extradite her because we have this law that shields her,” Borghardt said.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in a post on X.
“I will never send a New Yorker into harm’s way for the ‘crime of being a doctor.’ This is the ripple effect of overturning Roe, government mandated pregnancies and doctors facing jail time. Not in New York. We will always stand up for women’s rights.”
So how can Louisiana authorities arrest Hochul, if she can’t be apprehended in New York for sending abortion pills to patients?
Borghardt says she could be taken into custody if she travels to another state that does not have shield laws.
“If she travels she’s proceeding at her own risk of getting arrested and then ultimately extradited back to Louisiana and facing prosecution.”
A West Baton Rouge grand jury indicted Doctor Carpenter and her the minor’s mother, who allegedly ordered the abortion pills. Borghardt says the prosecution of possessing abortion-inducting drugs without a prescription can continue for for the mother, but for Doctor Carpenter the case has hit a stalemate.
“This is a felony that carries zero to five years. These states are going to enforce these laws if their legislatures says this is an illegal maneuver. So, this is fascinating, but I don’t think this is the last time we will see this sort of prosecution.”
A Texas judge has fined Doctor Carpenter $100,000 for providing abortions pills to women in Texas.
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