Health care
AG Ken Paxton sues another out-of-state provider accused of illegally sending abortion-inducing pills to Texans

In 2024, Texas also sued a New York provider accused of prescribing abortion pills, but her state’s law has shielded her from prosecution.

by Aidan Johnstone
Jan. 27, 2026, 5:12 p.m. Central

June 14, 2022. Kylie Cooper/The Texas Tribune

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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has accused a Delaware nurse practitioner of prescribing abortion-inducing drugs to Texas residents in what is now the second lawsuit the state has filed against an out-of-state provider over such medications.

“The day of reckoning for this radical out-of-state abortion drug trafficker is here,” said Paxton in a news release on Tuesday about the lawsuit. “No one, regardless of where they live, will be freely allowed to aid in the murder of unborn children in Texas.”

Debra Lynch, the principal defendant in the case, operates Her Safe Harbor, which also uses the name Delaware Community Care. The service is an online clinic which prescribes medication packages containing abortion-inducing mifepristone and misoprostol, as well as anti-nausea medication and ibuprofen. The organization claims to help women in all 50 states in seeking abortion medication, according to its website.

The lawsuit alleges that Her Safe Harbor sent packages containing abortion medication to women in cities across Texas, including Beaumont, Fulshear, Tomball, Houston and El Paso. ... Texas is suing Lynch on two counts. The first is a violation of Texas’ Human Life Protection Act (HLPA), which outlaws abortion unless performed by a physician and deemed medically necessary for the life of the mother. ... The second count levied against Lynch is practicing medicine without a license. According to the lawsuit, Lynch, who is a nurse practitioner, is not a licensed physician and is not licensed to practice medicine in Texas.

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Texas law allowing private citizens to sue over abortion pill draws concern from providers

by Natalie Venegas
Mon, December 1, 2025 at 3:39 PM

AUSTIN, TEXAS (KFOX14/CBS4) — Abortion providers and physicians from several states are warning about the impact of a new Texas law that will allow private citizens to sue anyone who distributes abortion medication.

The law, House Bill 7, will allow private citizens to sue anyone who manufactures or distributes abortion drugs to or from Texas, including out-of-state physicians who use telehealth.

The civil suits, if successful, would allow plaintiffs to be awarded a minimum of $100,000 against those who prescribe, mail, or distribute abortion pills to Texans. If the plaintiff is not directly related to the fetus, they would only be entitled to 10% and would have to give the remaining money to a charity of their choosing.

However, under this new law, women taking abortion pills would not be eligible to be sued.

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