A county clerk in New York refused Thursday to file a more than $100,000 judgment from Texas against a doctor accused of prescribing abortion pills to a woman near Dallas, setting up a potential challenge to laws designed to shield abortion providers who serve patients in states with abortion bans.

On Thursday, citing New York’s shield law, the acting clerk of Ulster County in Kingston, N.Y., Taylor Bruck, said he would not grant Texas’ motion seeking to enforce the Collin County order. He also refused to allow Texas to file a summons that sought to force Dr. Carpenter to pay the penalty and comply with the Texas ruling.

A New York county clerk has refused to enforce a Texas fine against an OB-GYN for allegedly prescribing abortion pills, citing shield laws.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had sued the New York doctor in December, accusing her of violating his state's ban by providing abortion pills to a resident. When the doctor and her attorneys failed to appear,

New York officials used a shield law for the first time to prevent an abortion provider from being punished in a different state.

A local official in New York on Thursday rejected Texas' effort to enforce a $100,000 judgment against a New York doctor accused of sending abortion pills to the state, escalating an unprecedented interstate conflict.

New York's abortion shield law prevents Texas from pursuing legal action against Dr. Margaret Daley Carpenter for prescribing abortion pills to a Texas resident.

New York is one of eight states with a shield law that protects abortion pill providers from facing legal retaliation by states where abortion is outlawed.

A New York county clerk's rejection of a Texas ruling against Dr. Margaret Carpenter, who mailed abortion pills, is likely to spark a legal challenge.