Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill has signed an extradition order for Margaret Carpenter, MD, a physician in New York who was indicted by a grand jury in Louisiana for providing abortion pills to a minor in the state via telemedicine, The Hill reported Feb. 13.
Here are five other things to know about the ongoing legal case:
1. Ms. Murrill announced the extradition order in a post on social platform X Feb. 12, less than two weeks after the grand jury indictment. In the post, she says that the extradition form had been transferred to Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry's office.
"We will take any and all legal actions to enforce the criminal laws of this State!" she wrote.
2. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has already rejected the extradition request, NBC News reported Feb. 13. "I will not be signing an extradition order that came from the governor of Louisiana, not now, not ever," she said at a Feb. 13 news conference.
3. The case is thought to be the first time criminal charges have been brought against a physician for allegedly prescribing and sending abortion medication to another state, according to The Hill.
4. The extradition is a test of New York's shield laws intended to protect the identities of abortion providers who prescribe abortion medication to patients in more heavily restricted states.
5. Louisiana's near-total abortion ban, which does not allow exceptions for rape or incest, went into effect in 2022 after the Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade.