New York County Lawyers Association Leaders Commend Governor Hochul’s Refusal to Allow the Extradition of Dr. Margaret Daley Carpenter

The New York County Lawyers Association’s Reproductive Rights Task Force, joined by NYCLA President Adrienne B. Koch, President-Elect Richard P. Swanson, and Vice President Ronald C. Minkoff, commends Governor Kathy Hochul’s decision to reject the extradition request for Dr. Margaret Daley Carpenter, a New York physician who has been criminally indicted in Louisiana (and sued civilly in Texas) for providing medication abortion services by mail. Governor Hochul’s refusal to allow Dr. Carpenter’s extradition affirms New York’s commitment to protecting all Americans’ reproductive freedoms and its support for medical professionals who serve their patients in accordance with New York law and their ethical obligations.

Dr. Carpenter’s case highlights the alarming consequences of restrictive abortion bans in states like Louisiana and Texas, where efforts to prosecute medical providers for offering abortion care create fear and uncertainty—and can have fatal consequences. In January 2025, a Louisiana grand jury issued a criminal indictment against Dr. Carpenter, who co-founded the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine, for allegedly violating Louisiana’s near-total abortion ban by mailing abortion pills to a patient in Louisiana. Last week, Louisiana’s governor Jeff Landry signed a warrant purporting to compel Dr. Carpenter to stand trial in Louisiana—a warrant that New York officials intend not to enforce.

Despite Louisiana’s public invocation of the “Full Faith and Credit” clause, New York’s resistance to the warrant falls squarely under the extradition provisions of New York’s Criminal Procedure Law. These provisions provide two firewalls to protect Dr. Carpenter. First, under CPLR Section 570.16 (New York’s version of the Uniform Extradition Act, adopted in 48 states), extradition is permissible only if Dr. Carpenter’s act is a crime in both New York and Louisiana.  That is not the case here—providing medication abortion services by mail is perfectly legal in New York. Second, New York is one of eight states that has added an additional safe harbor, CPLR Section 570.17, which expressly permits the Governor to decline extradition requests for protected healthcare activity, including contraception and abortion care. 

Dr. Carpenter is also named in a civil suit brought by the attorney general of Texas, which alleges that she violated Texas’s abortion ban by prescribing and sending medication abortion bills to a patient in that state. Last week, the judge in the Texas case enjoined Dr. Carpenter from prescribing and sending abortion pills to patients in the state and fined her over $100,000. The Louisiana and Texas cases against Dr. Carpenter are expected to reach the U.S. Supreme Court, each critical tests in the continuing battle over abortion rights in post-Dobbs America.

The leaders of the New York County Lawyers Association, together with our Reproductive Rights Task Force, are proud to stand with Governor Hochul and Dr. Carpenter, and to support efforts to ensure access to comprehensive, compassionate abortion care, free from legal intimidation. We applaud Governor Hochul’s leadership and commitment to making New York a safe haven for reproductive rights.

About the New York County Lawyers Association
The New York County Lawyers Association (nycla.org) was founded in 1908 as one of the first major bar associations in the country that admitted members without regard to race, ethnicity, religion or gender, and has a long history of supporting the rights of LGBTQ+ people. Since its inception, NYCLA has pioneered some of the most far-reaching and tangible reforms in American jurisprudence. For more information on NYCLA please visit nycla.org.

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