A Louisiana district attorney is prosecuting a New York doctor and West Baton Rouge Parish mother who allegedly provided abortion pills to her minor daughter. (Phil Walter/Getty Images)
A mother from Port Allen caught up in a landmark abortion pills case pleaded not guilty Tuesday to felony criminal charges for allegedly providing her minor daughter with medication to end her pregnancy.
The woman was indicted Jan. 31 for allegedly giving her teen daughter pills she had obtained through the mail. Dr. Margaret Carpenter, the New York physician who allegedly prescribed and sent the pills to Louisiana, was also indicted on felony changes. It’s the first criminal case of its kind in the country since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
The Illuminator is not identifying the mother in order to protect her daughter’s privacy. The case involves a 2022 Louisiana law that makes it a crime to knowingly cause an abortion with medication. It carries penalties of one to five years in prison and a fine ranging from $5,000-$50,000.
The mother was taken into custody the same day as her indictment and posted bond that evening. West Baton Rouge District Attorney Tony Clayton is prosecuting this case with Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill.
“I’m charging the mother because she ordered the pill, and she paid for the pill with her credit card and she gave the pill to a minor,” Clayton told the Illuminator. “That’s illegal in the state of Louisiana.”
Brusly attorney Victor Woods is representing the mother, his office confirmed Tuesday. He is not currently accepting interview requests.
Clayton and Murrill allege the Port Allen mother gave her pregnant teen daughter an ultimatum to take the medication or move out of the house.
“The child took the pill and was home by herself,” Clayton said, adding that she later started bleeding, called 911 and was taken to a hospital in an ambulance.
A police officer who responded to the call initially thought the teen was experiencing a miscarriage but “found out” she had taken abortion pills provided from an out-of-state clinic, the district attorney said.
Murrill has repeatedly claimed the crime is “about coercion” and “forcing somebody to have an abortion who didn’t want one.” However, no charges of coerced abortion have been brought against the teen’s mother or Carpenter, the doctor.
The case has received national attention because Louisiana officials have sought to extradite Carpenter, testing New York’s shield laws protecting providers who prescribe abortion medication to patients out of state.
Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York said she will “never” extradite Carpenter after Republican Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry filed paperwork requesting it. Murrill, also a GOP member, warned Carpenter to “be careful” with her travel plans, suggesting other states might cooperate with Louisiana’s extradition request.
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