Groups respond to Paxton lawsuit over out-of-state abortion pills

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing a New York doctor who he claims unlawfully provided abortion-inducing drugs to a Texas resident.

In a lawsuit filed Dec. 12, Paxton said the pills were sent to a Collin County woman, outside the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The drugs caused the woman to be hospitalized for severe bleeding. It is unclear from the lawsuit if the pregnancy was terminated.

"Ken Paxton is prioritizing his anti-abortion agenda over the health and well-being of women by attempting to shut down telemedicine abortion nationwide. By threatening access to safe and effective reproductive health care, he is putting women directly in harm's way," said the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine in a statement to KXAN.

Texas law prohibits a physician or medical provider to provide abortion-inducing drugs by mail. It also prohibits out-of-state doctors from prescribing medications or practicing telemedicine on Texans without a state license.

"There's reasons we have laws in place to protect women and babies in our state and this doctor violated those laws," said Texas Alliance for Life spokeswoman Amy O'Donnell. "This shows we will enforce our laws and I hope that it's a deterrent for people who don't care about the harm these drugs can cause women when they illegally move them into our state."

Paxton said he wants the doctor to pay $100,000 for every violation of the state's near-total abortion ban. New York has a shield law that protects providers from out-of-state investigations. Texas, however, has said it will pursue those cases regardless of another state's laws.

However, because of that shield law, New York doesn't require the doctor to follow Texas' orders. It's unclear how the situation could potentially play out in court.

New York Attorney General Letitia James said Friday that she intends to "defend reproductive freedom."

"As other states move to attack those who provide or obtain abortion care, New York is proud to be a safe haven for abortion access," she said. "We will always protect our providers from unjust attempts to punish them for doing their job and we will never cower in the face of intimidation or threats."