New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation Monday to protect the identities of healthcare providers prescribing abortion medication days.
The move comes days after a Louisiana grand jury indicted a New York doctor for prescribing and mailing abortion pills to a patient living in Louisiana.
Under the new law, providers prescribing abortion medication can request that a dispensing pharmacy print the name of their practice on the prescription bottle label instead of their name.
“Reproductive freedom will always be protected in the State of New York—and I’ll never back down from this fight,” said Hochul. “At a time when fundamental rights are under attack across the country, we are doubling down on our commitment to safeguard access to reproductive health care and defend those on the frontlines of this battle.”
The grand jury in West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, indicted Dr. Margaret Daley Carpenter, her company, and the mother of her patient, who is a minor.
Louisiana has an almost near-total abortion ban, and Carpenter could face up to $200,000 in fines and 15 years in prison, as well as the loss of her medical license.
An arrest warrant was also issued for Carpenter and the mother of the patient on Friday.
District Attorney Tony Clayton said the mother turned herself in to Louisiana police last week, according to the Associated Press.
The case appears to be the first time criminal charges have been issued against a doctor for prescribing abortion medication out-of-state.
It is also the first test of New York state’s shield law, which was enacted to protect abortion providers from out-of-state prosecutions and investigations.
Carpenter was also used by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton late last year for allegedly prescribing abortion medication online to a 20-year Texas woman who ended up in the hospital with complications.
Clayton told the Associated Press he expects Carpenter to come to Louisiana and “answer to these charges.”
“If 12 people (a jury) think she’s innocent, then let it go,” he said.
But New York leadership appears prepared to fight any attempts at extraditing Carpenter.
“I will never, under any circumstances, turn this doctor over to the state of Louisiana under any extradition requests,” Hochul said in a video message Friday.
