New York county clerk refuses $100K Texas judgment against doctor in abortion lawsuit

The performing clerk of Ulster County, New York rejected on Thursday to file a $100,000 judgment towards a physician who’s accused of unlawfully offering abortion-inducing medication to a Texas lady.

Refusing to file the abstract judgment, Ulster County Clerk Taylor Bruck invoked the SHIELD Act. He additional famous that Ulster County’s determination is “more likely to lead to additional litigation” and he “should chorus from discussing particular particulars in regards to the scenario.”

The February 14 default judgment stems from a lawsuit by the Texas legal professional normal towards Carpenter, alleging Carpenter practiced drugs within the state with no Texas license and improperly aided an abortion, violating new, restrictive native abortion legal guidelines. Since Carpenter failed to reply to the civil go well with, the courtroom granted the state’s requested injunctive reduction ordering Carpenter to stop prescribing abortion tablets to ladies within the state and practising drugs within the state, and imposing a $100,000 tremendous towards her.

Based on the lawsuit, Carpenter had prescribed mifepristone, a medicine used to terminate a being pregnant as much as 10 weeks gestation, to a Texas lady by way of a telehealth appointment in July 2024. Texas legislation prohibits abortion with exceptions to protect the life and “main bodily operate” of the mom.

The SHIELD Act, signed into New York state legislation in July 2019, requires firms to develop, implement, and keep safeguards to guard the safety, confidentiality, and integrity of personal information, together with social safety and account numbers, biometric data, username or e-mail addresses, and password credentials.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul famous the state’s SHIELD legislation anticipates conditions the place different states might try and retaliate towards New York docs for prescribing abortion medicines, just like the lawsuit towards Carpenter. “I need to be clear that we now have taken all of the steps we will to guard this physician to proceed permitting her to proceed practising what we consider is reproductive well being, which I consider is a vital proper,” Hochul mentioned, the day earlier than the Texas judgment was made towards Carpenter. 

Final month, Hochul invoked the state’s SHIELD legislation in response to a different New York physician going through a felony indictment in Louisiana.

In response to lawsuits towards New York docs who prescribe abortion medicines by telehealth appointments, the state handed a invoice in December 2024 that goals to additional protect docs by itemizing the medical follow group, relatively than the prescribing doctor, on disbursed abortion medicines.