Gov. Kathy Hochul this morning signed and sent a letter to Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry formally rejecting his order for the extradition of a New Paltz doctor to stand trial for murder for having provided an abortion medication to a patient in Louisiana.
In remarks made before she signed the letter, Hochul said that the doctor “provided legal, life saving, FDA approved abortion medication to a patient. This doctor, who now faces a felony charge, was simply doing her job, following both her medical oath and New York state law.”
Hochul noted that prescribing safe abortion medication is legal under New York laws that were enacted even before the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
“Just as doctors swear to do no harm, I took an oath under God to protect New Yorkers,” Hochul said. “I reaffirm that oath by sending the letter back to Governor Landry, making it crystal clear – I will not be signing this extradition request. Not now, not ever.”
In her letter, Hochul told Landry that the doctor was conducting a legally protected health activity covered under New York Criminal Procedure Law §570.17 and that someone to be extradited had to be physically present in the state that is demanding the extradition at the time the crime allegedly was committed and that the person fled from the state or federal law requires the extradition.
“Your request does not allege that (the doctor) was physically present in Louisiana at the time of the commission of the alleged crime. For that reason, recognition of your request is also not required by federal law,” Hochul said in her letter to Landry. “Moreover, based on publicly available information, it is my belief that allegations sufficient to mandate extradition could not be made in good faith.”
She continued, “New York State is steadfast in ensuring that no medical practitioners are penalized for providing reproductive health care as permitted by our state’s laws. In accordance with the laws of this state, I do not recognize this request.”
