Attorney General Ken Paxton (R-TX) on Monday filed legal action against a New York clerk for refusing to enforce a judgment against a New York doctor, who prescribed abortion pills to a Texas resident.
Paxton’s office, previously this year, asked acting Ulster County Clerk Taylor Bruck to file a summary judgment and court summons against Dr. Margaret Carpenter, who lost in a civil lawsuit filed by Texas in March. Bruck refused to do so on two separate occasions, prompting Paxton to legally force the clerk’s hand.
Paxton submitted a petition seeking a writ of mandamus, which would compel Bruck to file the Texas judgment in New York state court. Because New York is one of eight states that have a telehealth shield law protecting abortion providers from out-of-state litigation or prosecutions, the judgment against Carpenter is not enforceable in the Empire State unless the county clerk makes it so.
Bruck repeatedly refused to comply with Paxton’s request, citing the abortion shield law.
“We have received your letter regarding the Dr. Margaret Carpenter judgment originally submitted for filing on March 17th, 2025. The rejection stands. Resubmitting the same materials does not alter the outcome,” he wrote in a brief reply on July 14. “While I’m not entirely sure how things work in Texas, here in New York, a rejection means the matter is closed. Have a good day. Excelsior.”
If the issue persists, it’s possible the abortion dispute between Texas and New York could end up before the Supreme Court.
Carpenter, founder of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine Access, faced legal trouble in Texas after she prescribed and mailed abortion medication to a young pregnant woman in Collin County, despite not having a medical license in the state. The prescribed pills were mifepristone and misoprostol, which can be used to terminate pregnancies before 10 weeks.
After Paxton filed the civil lawsuit in December, a Texas judge imposed a $100,000 penalty and permanent injunction prohibiting Carpenter from sending abortion drugs to Texas patients. The attorney general wants the judgment to be upheld.
“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,” Paxton said in a statement. “No matter where they reside, pro-abortion extremists who send drugs designed to kill the unborn into Texas will face the full force of our state’s pro-life laws.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) enacted the abortion shield law in 2023, one year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in a major anti-abortion victory that allowed red states to codify abortion bans.
“These extremists are determined to punish a New York doctor for providing safe, legal abortion care. It’s pathetic. It’s dangerous. And it won’t happen on our watch,” Hochul said in a statement Monday. “They picked the wrong state and the wrong governor — and I’ll never stop fighting to protect women’s reproductive freedom.”
NEW YORK CLERK REBUFFS TEXAS OVER FINE AGAINST ABORTION DOCTOR
While the judgment in Texas was a resolution to a civil matter, Carpenter faces a criminal indictment in Louisiana in which she mailed abortion pills to a pregnant minor’s mother, who forced the drugs upon her teenage daughter. The mother was also indicted in Louisiana.
Like the Texas case, the felony charges against Carpenter face similar challenges due to New York’s abortion shield law. Gov. Jeff Landry (R-LA) moved to extradite the abortion provider earlier this year, but Hochul refused to sign the extradition warrant.