Louisiana, New York leaders spar after doctor indicted for out-of-state abortion pill prescription

by Lorena O’Neil, Louisiana Illuminator
February 1, 2025

A Louisiana grand jury indicted a New York doctor and a Baton Rouge-area mother Friday on felony charges for allegedly causing a criminal abortion by giving her pregnant teen daughter medication obtained through the mail. 

Soon afterward, officials from both states immediately went public with their stances on the case. It is the first criminal case of its kind since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, released a video calling the charges “outrageous,” saying it is why she signed “very tough” shield laws into place protecting telehealth providers.

“I will never, under any circumstances, turn this doctor over to the state of Louisiana under any extradition request,” Hochul said. “Republicans are fighting to have a national abortion ban that will deny reproductive freedom to women, not just in our state, but all across America. We must stand firm and fight this.”

Shortly after the governor’s video was published, The Illuminator spoke with 18th Judicial District Attorney Tony Clayton, a Democrat who is prosecuting the case alongside Republican state Attorney General Liz Murrill. He said he finds it “shocking” that Dr. Margaret Carpenter and representatives from her clinic are not going to come to Louisiana to be arrested and taken into custody.

“You broke the law in the state of Louisiana and you ought to come down here and answer the charges,” Clayton said.

Clayton was among the most ardent supporters of Republican Gov. Jeff Landry’s “tough on crime” legislation, including his successful push to treat 17-year-old violent offenders as adults in the state criminal justice system.     

Landry’s office did not respond to the Illuminator’s request for comment, but the governor did reply to Hochul’s social media post. Carpenter provided “illegal abortion pills to a teen who didn’t want them,” Landry said. “This case is about coercion. Plain and simple.” he added.

Fixed it for you, @GovKathyHochul.

News flash, the American people aren’t falling for your lies!

This case is about coercion. Plain and simple. pic.twitter.com/7saVnsPJZh

— Governor Jeff Landry (@LAGovJeffLandry) January 31, 2025

The teenager’s mother posted bond late Friday after being taken into custody at West Baton Rouge Parish Jail. Her bond amount was not listed.

Clayton and Murrill’s prosecution involves a law approved in 2022 that makes it a crime to knowingly cause an abortion with medication. It carries penalties of one to five years in prison and a fine range of $5,000-$50,000. The same measure also made it illegal to obtain such drugs through the mail from out of state.

Clayton claims the prosecution will provide evidence that the teen’s mother filled out an online questionnaire to order the pills from Carpenter’s company, Nightingale Medical. The mother paid $150 for the medication with her credit card and received it in the mail. Clayton alleges the teen’s mother gave her daughter an ultimatum to take the medication or move out of her house. 

“The child took the pill and was home by herself,” Clayton said, adding that she later started bleeding, called 911 and was taken to a hospital in an ambulance. A police officer who responded to the call initially thought the teen was experiencing a miscarriage but “found out” she had taken abortion pills provided from an out-of-state clinic, the district attorney said. 

Police ultimately brought the case to his office, according to Clayton.

“The mother’s the one who paid for it with a credit card and put the whole deal in action,” he said. “The doctor is being charged because [she] mailed the pill here.”

Louisiana law does not allow a pregnant person to be charged with criminal abortion, and Clayton said he “absolutely” would not charge the minor involved.

When asked if he thought a child under the age of 18 could consent to an abortion, Clayton answered the question by tailoring it to this specific case.

“The evidence will show in this case that the child had planned a gender reveal, and the child wanted to keep her baby,” he said. “This is not a question of her wanting to have the abortion.”

“I’m charging the mother because she ordered the pill, and she paid for the pill with her credit card and she gave the pill to a minor. That’s illegal in the state of Louisiana.” Clayton said. 

In a written statement Friday, Murrill implied the teen’s mother compelled her daughter to take the abortion pills.

“The allegations in this case have nothing to do with reproductive health care, this is about coercion,” Murrill said. “This is about forcing somebody to have an abortion who didn’t want one.”

“We investigated this case. District Attorney Tony Clayton brought it to a grand jury. The grand jury unanimously and quickly indicted,” the attorney general added.

When the Illuminator asked the attorney general’s office if she plans to add the crime of coerced abortion to the charges against the teen’s mother, spokesman Lester Duhé responded to the question by referring to her original statement.

A separate coerced abortion law approved last year made Louisiana the first state to reclassify mifepristone and misoprostol as controlled dangerous substances. The designation typically applies to highly addictive drugs. Mifepristone and misoprostol are not addictive, and both have multiple uses beyond abortion and are on the World Health Organization’s list of essential medicines. 

Murrill also responded to Gov. Hochul’s video post on social media.

“Cheerleading for the alleged coerced abortion of a young girl is sick and barbaric, Governor Hochul,” Murril wrote. “It’s not ‘reproductive health care,’ it’s force.”

When asked if he thought charges of coerced abortion would be added to the case, Clayton said he is focusing on the defendants “dispensing, delivering, aiding and abetting and causing an abortion” through the medication.

New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat best known for winning a civil fraud case against President Donald Trump, released her own statement about the indictment against Carpenter.

“The criminalization of abortion care is a direct and brazen attack on Americans’ bodily autonomy and their right to reproductive freedom,” James said. “This cowardly attempt out of Louisiana to weaponize the law against out-of-state providers is unjust and un-American. Medication abortion is safe, effective, and necessary, and New York will ensure that it remains available to all Americans who need it.”

Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com.