Texas sues physician for prescribing abortion drugs via telehealth
The defendant is alleged to have knowingly treated Texas residents despite not being a licensed Texas physician.
Photo: Carl Lokko/Getty Images
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued a New York doctor for providing abortion-inducing drugs to Texas residents in violation of that state's law.
Dr. Margaret Daley Carpenter, a New York doctor and founder of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine, unlawfully provided a Collin County resident with abortion-inducing drugs that ended the life of an unborn child, the lawsuit alleges.
According to the AG, the drugs resulted in complications for the mother that were serious enough to require medical intervention.
WHAT'S THE IMPACT
The lawsuit comes more than two years after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in its decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. Both protected women's access to abortion services, including abortion-inducing drugs.
With the end of federal abortion protections, dozens of states established their own rules regarding the legality of abortion services and access. This created confusion among providers as to what care could now be delivered legally.
Current Texas laws prohibit a physician or medical supplier from providing any abortion-inducing drugs by courier, delivery or mail service. Additionally, no physician may treat patients or prescribe Texas residents medicine through telehealth services unless the doctor holds a valid Texas medical license.
According to the lawsuit, Carpenter knowingly treated Texas residents despite not being a licensed Texas physician and not being authorized to practice telehealth in Texas.
Paxton requested the court enjoin Carpenter from violating Texas law and impose civil penalties of no less than $100,000 for each violation.
In the year following the Supreme Court's decision, there were nearly 26,000 fewer abortions performed in the U.S. as compared to the pre-Dobbs average, according to data published last year by the Society of Family Planning.
The impact of Dobbs has differed by state abortion policies. The number of states where abortion was completely banned increased from nine states in July 2022 to 13 in March 2023, and unsurprisingly, states with abortion bans have experienced the greatest reductions in numbers of abortions.
THE LARGER TREND
Reproductive care is becoming more difficult for women to access, and that's especially true in the case of abortion care, an October Wisp survey found.
Over the last decade, about 20% of women tried to access abortion services, but a third of them faced barriers ranging from cost to lack of insurance, and legal restrictions in some states.
Overall, people in the U.S. feel more negative than positive about the state of access to women's reproductive health, especially in the Northeast, where 41% had negative views. Generation Z women have the most negative outlook: Forty-three percent of those aged 18-24 said their outlook was negative.
Jeff Lagasse is editor of Healthcare Finance News.
Email: jlagasse@himss.org
Healthcare Finance News is a HIMSS Media publication.
