New York law seeks to shield doctors who provide abortion pills by mail

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York enacted a law on Monday intended to protect the state's doctors from prosecution by other states that have banned abortions when they prescribe and mail out abortion pills.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, signed the bill a few days after a New York doctor was indicted by a Louisiana grand jury for prescribing an abortion pill taken by a teenager in West Baton Rouge.

Louisiana is one of 13 Republican-led states to have banned abortion on the grounds that it is immoral since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2022 that there is no constitutional right to the procedure. Abortions remain legal in New York.

Many states that have abolished legal abortions have also allowed for the prosecution of anyone who assists an abortion within their jurisdiction, including health care providers who provide support or mail drugs from other states.

The new law in New York expands the state's shield laws for healthcare providers who provide abortion services to other states, making it one of eight Democrat-led states with such protections.

The New York law allows prescribers to have the pharmacist dispense mifepristone, misoprostol and other abortion drugs under the name of their medical practice, rather than their individual name.

"I'm taking action to strengthen protections for health care professionals and their patients, ensuring New York is a safe haven for anyone providing or receiving reproductive care," Hochul said in a statement after signing the bill.

The law, which takes effect immediately, is intended to make it harder for investigators and prosecutors in other states to identify and collate evidence that could prove to a jury which individual prescribed a drug.

The case in Louisiana appears to be the first time a state has brought criminal charges against a doctor in another state for prescribing an abortion drug across state lines.

Dr. Margaret Carpenter and her practice, Nightingale Medical, was charged with a felony under Louisiana law, and is also facing a civil lawsuit by the attorney general of Texas, which has also banned abortion.

Hochul has said New York would not cooperate with any effort to extradite Carpenter.

(Reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York; Editing by Stephen Coates)