Judge dismisses Texas case against law-breaking New York abortionist

A New York judge on Friday dismissed a legal challenge filed by the state of Texas against Margaret Carpenter, a New York abortionist who violated Texas law by mailing abortion pill drugs to a woman in Texas.

Key Takeaways:

• Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sought legal action after New York abortionist Margaret Carpenter broke Texas law by mailing abortion pills to a Texas woman, who suffered injuries as a result.

• New York officials had refused to comply with a Texas judge's fine against Carpenter, citing the state's shield law which protects abortionists.

• A New York judge has affirmed that the state's shield law stands, and that the state will not comply with Texas' legal action against Carpenter.

The Backstory:

In December 2024, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against Carpenter, after she mailed the abortion pill to a Texas woman via telemedicine. The woman experienced complications after taking the drugs, including severe bleeding, and had to seek emergency medical care. Texas law protects nearly all preborn children from abortion.

In February 2025, a Texas judge granted an injunction against Carpenter, which prohibited her from mailing any more abortion pills into the state, and also levied a $100,000 fine against her.

In March and again in July, acting Ulster County Clerk Taylor Bruck in New York refused to file the summary judgement against Carpenter, which would have required her to pay the more than $100,000 fine. Bruck cited New York's "shield law" which protects abortionists who break the laws of other states. Shield laws like the one in New York usually prohibit government or state officials and law enforcement from aiding in other states' legal proceedings against abortionists.

After Bruck's second refusal to issue the summary judgement in July, Paxton filed a legal petition seeking a court order to force Carpenter to pay the fine.

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The Details:

On Friday, Justice David M. Gandin, who sits on the Supreme Court in Ulster County, ruled in favor of Bruck, dismissing Paxton's legal petition. Gandin, too, invoked the state's shield law in determining that Carpenter should not be forced to pay her fine.

“Dr. Carpenter’s conduct falls squarely within the definition of ‘legally protected health activity,’” Gandin wrote in his decision. He called Carpenter’s work “the precise type of conduct (the shield law) was designed to protect.”

Bruck told reporters he was "relieved" at Gandin's decision.

“It seemed very clear to me that as a government employee I should not be complying with this,” he said. “Since there was no precedent for the shield law yet, it feels really good to set that precedent.”

The Bottom Line:

Gandin's ruling, along with the very existence of shield laws, does set a precedent — a dangerous one. It's a precedent that tells women they have no recourse if they are injured by a law-breaking abortionist, and it tells states attempting to enforce pro-life protections against women and preborn children that anyone from a "protected" state can break the law and face zero consequences for it.