In a frightening first, a doctor in New York was indicted by a grand jury in Louisiana on January 31 for allegedly prescribing the abortion pill to a patient in the state. The Associated Press reports that Dr. Margaret Carpenter, her company, Nightingale Medical, PC, and a third person were charged with “criminal abortion by means of abortion-inducing drugs, a felony."
Per Abortion Finder, abortion is illegal in the state of Louisiana with very limited exceptions; those include if the pregnant person's life or physical health is in danger, or if the fetus is not expected to survive the pregnancy. There is no exception for rape or incest. This near total ban went into effect in the state in July 2022, just a month after Roe v. Wade was overturned.
According to the AP, if someone knowingly possesses either abortion pill mifepristone or misoprostol—which are taken in succession to induce a miscarriage—without "a valid prescription for any purpose," they could face up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. If convicted of providing abortion care, doctors in the state face up to 15 years in prison, $200,000 in fines, and loss of their medical license.
Carpenter is a co-founder of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine, an organization which “supports clinicians who make safe, timely, and affordable telemedicine abortion care available to patients in all 50 states,” according to its website.
In a statement, the group said, “Make no mistake, since Roe v. Wade was overturned, we’ve witnessed a disturbing pattern of interference with women’s rights. It’s no secret the United States has a history of violence and harassment against abortion providers, and this state-sponsored effort to prosecute a doctor providing safe and effective care should alarm everyone.”
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