New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, signed a bill Monday aimed at shielding the identities of doctors who prescribe abortion drugs after a New York physician was indicted for prescribing abortion pills to a pregnant minor in Louisiana.
The new law, which is effective immediately, allows for doctors’ names to be omitted from abortion pill bottles and instead replaced with the name of their respective healthcare practices.
This comes after a grand jury in West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, indicted New York physician Margaret Carpenter, her company and an associate on Friday for allegedly using telemedicine to prescribe abortion pills to a girl.
Hochul said she would not sign an extradition request to send Carpenter to Louisiana.
Authorities in Louisiana learned the name of the doctor because it was listed on the medication label.
“After today, that will no longer happen,” Hochul said at the bill signing.
The case appears to be the first time a doctor has been charged for allegedly sending abortion pills to a patient in another state since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022 by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Louisiana prosecutors said the girl experienced a medical emergency after taking the medication and was transported to a hospital. The girl’s mother was also charged and turned herself in to police on Friday.
It is unclear how far along the girl was in her pregnancy.
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District Attorney Tony Clayton, who is prosecuting the Louisiana case, said the arrest warrant for Carpenter is “nationwide” and that she could be arrested in GOP-led states with abortion restrictions.
Physicians in Louisiana, which has a near-total abortion ban, could face up to 15 years in prison, $200,000 in fines and the loss of their medical license if they are convicted of performing abortions, including via medication.
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Hochul said she would push for another piece of legislation this year requiring pharmacists to follow doctors’ requests to leave their name off a prescription label.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against Carpenter in December over allegations she sent abortion pills to a woman in the Lone Star State, though criminal charges were not brought in that case.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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