New York Governor Kathy Hochul informed Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry that under no circumstance would she comply with his request to extradite an abortionist charged with prescribing abortion pills to a Louisiana minor.
“There’s only one right answer in this situation, and it is that this doctor must face extradition to Louisiana, where she can stand trial and justice will be served,” Landry said in a video statement Thursday.
In the video Landry said that the recipient of the pill was a “minor” who was excited to have the baby, but was forced by her mother to take the pill prescribed by Carpenter and ended up in the hospital as a result of it.
A minor in Louisiana got pregnant. She was excited to have a baby and was planning a gender reveal party.
Her mom conspired with a NY doctor to get a chemical abortion pill in the mail and coerced her to take it. She ended up in the hospital.
There is only one right answer in… pic.twitter.com/qFOu3liTpm
— Governor Jeff Landry (@LAGovJeffLandry) February 13, 2025
Hochul was seemingly unmoved by the story and offered Landry a defiant response.
“I will not be signing an extradition order that came from the governor of Louisiana, not now, not ever,” Hochul said at a news conference Thursday after receiving the request to hand over Dr. Margaret Carpenter.
Carpenter and her company, Nightingale Medical, were indicted last month by a Louisiana grand jury along with the minor’s mother. All were charged with “criminal abortion by means of abortion-inducing drugs” which is considered a felony, NBC reported.
“Louisiana has changed their laws, but that has no bearing on the laws here in the state of New York. Doctors take an oath to protect their patients,” Hochul continued. “I took an oath of office to protect all New Yorkers, and I will uphold not only our constitution, but also the laws of our land.”
This wasn’t Carpenter’s first run-in with a red state. Texas AG Ken Paxton sued the doctor last year for sending abortion pills to his state but did not include criminal charges.
Hochul was quick to protect Carpenter then too, and signed legislation allowing abortion providers to use the names of their companies, instead of their own names, on prescriptions, NBC reported.
As for Landry? He took to X to slam Hochul for “protecting criminals over victims.”
So you’re telling me @GovKathyHochul is protecting criminals over victims?!
And they wonder why people and businesses are fleeing the state https://t.co/F4gLW1XanM
— Governor Jeff Landry (@LAGovJeffLandry) February 14, 2025
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