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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: In recent years, I have taken on the theme of 'criminalizing reproduction' - a natural theme for a Blog concerned with flawed science in its myriad forms - as I am utterly appalled by the current movement in the United States (and some other countries) emboldened by the overturning of Roe Versus Wade, towards imprisoning and conducting surveillance on women and their physicians and others who help them secure a safe abortion, on the basis of sham science (or any other basis). I can’t remember the source, but agree totally with the sentiment that control over their reproductive lives is far too important to women in America - or anywhere else - so they can participate equally in the economic and social life of their nations without fear for loss their freedom at the hands of political opportunists and fanatics. (Far too many of those those around these days.) '
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
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QUOTES OF THE DAY: "Hochul has invoked New York’s abortion shield law, enacted in 2022 and expanded in 2023, which was designed specifically to protect doctors who provide legal abortion care to patients across state lines, including through telemedicine. The law prohibits state law enforcement and courts from cooperating with out-of-state investigations or extradition requests in cases where a provider’s actions are legal in New York. “Doctors take an oath to protect their patients. I took an oath of office to protect all New Yorkers,” Hochul said in a previous statement. “And I will uphold not only our constitution, but also the laws of our land.” In February, Hochul publicly barred law enforcement agencies from cooperating with Louisiana’s extradition request for Carpenter, as Daily Voice reported. “To establish that this is known across the state, we have sent out a law enforcement notice that certain out-of-state warrants are not enforceable in the state of New York,” she said at the time."
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STORY: "‘No Way In Hell’: Hochul Slams Texas’ Latest Attempt To Target NY Abortion Provider,'" by Reporter Michael Mashburn, published on July 14, 2025. (Michael Mashburn joined the Daily Voice team in April 2022 covering news throughout New York, including the Capital Region, Hudson Valley, and Long Island. He previously worked as a reporter for ABC Radio affiliates KTAR in Phoenix and KOMO in Seattle. He graduated from Arizona State University with a BA in journalism in May 2014.
GIST: "Gov. Kathy Hochul is once again making it crystal clear: New York will not cooperate with efforts to criminalize legal abortion care in the Empire State."
Hochul released a fiery statement Monday, July 14, after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton made a second attempt to file a legal judgment against an Ulster County doctor who prescribed abortion medication to a patient out of state.
“The anti-abortion extremists are at it again,” Hochul said. “Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is still trying to target a New York doctor for prescribing legal medication used to provide an abortion.”
Hochul applauded Acting Ulster County Clerk Taylor Bruck for rejecting the request for the second time, citing New York’s strengthened abortion shield laws, which protect providers from legal action brought by other states.
“Our response to their baseless claim is clear: no way in hell. New York won’t be bullied. And I’ll never back down from this fight,” Hochul said.
The governor went on to suggest that Paxton “focus more on his own private life instead of dictating the personal decisions of women across America.
The Doctor At The Center Of The Fight
The case involves Dr. Margaret Carpenter, a family physician based in New Paltz and co-founder of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine. Earlier this year, she was indicted by a Louisiana grand jury for allegedly prescribing abortion-inducing medication to a minor in that state, in violation of Louisiana’s strict abortion laws.
Carpenter, her practice (Nightingale Medical), and another individual were charged with “criminal abortion by means of abortion-inducing drugs,” after providing Mifepristone, a widely used abortion pill that remains legal and protected under New York law.
Shield Laws In Action
Hochul has invoked New York’s abortion shield law, enacted in 2022 and expanded in 2023, which was designed specifically to protect doctors who provide legal abortion care to patients across state lines, including through telemedicine.
The law prohibits state law enforcement and courts from cooperating with out-of-state investigations or extradition requests in cases where a provider’s actions are legal in New York.
“Doctors take an oath to protect their patients. I took an oath of office to protect all New Yorkers,” Hochul said in a previous statement. “And I will uphold not only our constitution, but also the laws of our land.”
In February, Hochul publicly barred law enforcement agencies from cooperating with Louisiana’s extradition request for Carpenter, as Daily Voice reported.
“To establish that this is known across the state, we have sent out a law enforcement notice that certain out-of-state warrants are not enforceable in the state of New York,” she said at the time.
First Test Since Roe v. Wade Was Overturned
The Carpenter case is believed to be the first criminal prosecution of a doctor for mailing abortion pills across state lines since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
It’s also viewed as a critical legal test of how far states like Texas and Louisiana can go in trying to criminalize abortion care provided legally in other jurisdictions.
While Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill has vowed to hold Carpenter “accountable,” New York’s stance under Hochul has been defiant.
“You are not to cooperate and enforce this extradition,” Hochul instructed law enforcement earlier this year."
The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
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