(Win McNamee / Getty Images) |
By Carrie N. Baker and Alisa Nudar | The battle over abortion rights crossed state lines last week when a Hudson Valley judge refused to enforce a Texas abortion ban in New York state.
On Friday, Oct. 31, the judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton against a New York clerk who refused to accept papers to enforce a Texas judgment against Dr. Margaret Carpenter, a New York doctor who provided telehealth abortion services to a Texas woman.
Advocates called the ruling both unsurprising and a clear affirmation of legal limits. “The New York judge’s dismissal of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s frivolous lawsuit is welcomed but expected,” said the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine (ACT).
New York’s shield law was built precisely for this clash. In June 2023, New York enacted a shield law authorizing healthcare providers in the state to provide telehealth abortion services to patients outside of New York without risk of criminal and investigation or civil action in states where abortion services are outlawed or restricted. By barring New York officials from enforcing out-of-state subpoenas, judgments, arrests or extraditions in cases targeting providers, the statute cleared the way for New York doctors to treat patients in Texas, where abortion is banned.
That protection made the next step plain, as Texas tried to carry its judgment across state lines into New York.
(Click here to read more) |
