Louisiana woman pleads not guilty to a felony in historic abortion case

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A Louisiana woman pleads not guilty Tuesday to a felony, after allegedly getting abortion pills from a New York doctor and giving them to her teenage daughter to terminate a pregnancy.

The woman’s arraignment is part of a cross-state legal battle that involves what may be the first instance of criminal charges against a doctor accused of sending abortion pills to another state, putting Louisiana’s near-total abortion ban in tension with New York’s shield laws.

In January, a West Baton Rouge grand jury unanimously issued an indictment against the 39-year-old Louisiana woman for criminal abortion by means of abortion-inducing drugs, which is a felony. The woman has not been publicly identified by The Associated Press to protect the identity of the minor.

The indictment in Louisiana came months after the state became the first to reclassify mifepristone and misoprostol — a two-drug regimen that can be used to end pregnancies through the 10th week — as “controlled dangerous substances.”

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says there is decades of evidence that mifepristone and misoprostol are safe and effective.

Pills have become the most common method of abortion in the U.S. and are at the center of political and legal fights over abortion access following the overturning of Roe. Such prescriptions, made online and over the phone, are a key reason that the number of abortions has increased across the U.S. since state bans started taking effect.

According to District Attorney Tony Clayton, last year the woman requested abortion medication online from New York-based Dr. Margaret Carpenter, for her daughter. Clayton said the request was made through a questionnaire only and no consultation with the teen.

A “cocktail of pills” was mailed to the woman who directed her daughter to take them, Clayton said.

After taking the drug, the girl experienced a medical emergency, called 911 and was transported to the hospital where she was treated. While responding to the emergency, a police officer learned about the pills and under further investigation found that an out-of-state doctor had supplied the drugs and turned their findings over to Clayton’s office.

The Baton Rouge jury also indicted Carpenter, who is facing the same felony charge as the Louisiana woman. The indictment triggered Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry to send a formal extradition order to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Under Louisiana law, physicians convicted of performing an illegal abortion, including one with pills, face up to 15 years in prison, $200,000 in fines and the loss of their medical license.

Landry demanded that Carpenter be turned over to Louisiana and face the state’s justice system. Hochul refused, saying she would not sign the order: “Not now, not ever.”

Meanwhile, Texas State District Judge Bryan Gantt ordered Carpenter to pay a $100,000 penalty as well as attorneys fees for allegedly breaking a Texas law by prescribing abortion medication via telemedicine.