New York clerk refuses to enforce Texas effort to punish abortion provider

Texas suit alleging Dr Margaret Carpenter mailed abortion pills to Lone Star state will likely go to US supreme court

A New York county clerk on Thursday refused to enforce a Texas court fineagainst a New York doctor accused of mailing abortion pills across state lines – a move that tees up a dramatic showdown between states that protect abortion rights and those that have banned the procedure. The clash will probably end up in front of the US supreme court.

In December, the Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, sued Dr Margaret Carpenter in a Texas court for allegedly mailing abortion pills to the Lone Star state, which bans virtually all abortions. After Carpenter did not show up to a court hearing earlier this year, a Texas judge ruled against her, ordering her to pay a $113,000 penalty and stop sending abortion pills to Texas.