Louisiana has filed to extradite California physician Remy Coeytaux, accused of mailing mifepristone and misoprostol to a patient in 2023. The move could pit Louisiana's strict antiabortion laws against state "shield laws" that protect out-of-state telehealth providers. Coeytaux faces criminal allegations and separate civil and federal litigation; legal experts say the case could spark an interstate legal battle over the reach of state prosecutions and protections for telemedicine.
Louisiana Seeks Extradition Of California Doctor in Case That Could Test Shield Laws
FILE - Mifepristone tablets sit on a table at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Ames, Iowa, July 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)
BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana moved Tuesday to extradite a California-based physician accused of mailing abortion pills to a patient in the state, setting up what legal observers say could become a high-profile test of so-called "shield laws" that protect telehealth providers who send medication across state lines.
Attorney General Liz Murrill announced criminal charges against Dr. Remy Coeytaux, a San Francisco Bay Area physician, saying the indictment alleges he mailed mifepristone and misoprostol in 2023 to a Louisiana resident who obtained the drugs through Aid Access, an overseas online telemedicine service. Investigators say the woman used the two drugs in combination to end her pregnancy, and that they confirmed Coeytaux as the sender.
Murrill said the charge could carry significant penalties. Media reports quote her as saying a conviction could result in up to 50 years behind bars; state law criminalizing provision of abortions generally carries penalties that include up to 15 years in prison and fines as high as $200,000 for physicians. Last year, Louisiana also reclassified mifepristone and misoprostol as controlled or dangerous substances and expanded penalties aimed at out-of-state prescribers.
Republican Gov. Jeff Landry posted on X that Louisiana has "a zero tolerance policy for those who subvert our laws, seek to hurt women, and promote abortion," and that he had sent extradition paperwork to California. Gov. Gavin Newsom's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Coeytaux is also defending a separate federal civil lawsuit filed in Texas in July, in which a man alleges the doctor provided abortion medication to his girlfriend. The Center for Reproductive Rights, which represents Coeytaux in a related civil matter, emphasized that the Louisiana criminal charge is an allegation and warned that prosecuting out-of-state providers endangers women's health in states with abortion restrictions.
Why This Could Become A Legal Flashpoint
Several states, including New York and California, have enacted "shield laws" intended to protect clinicians who provide abortion care remotely to patients in states where abortion is banned or restricted. When Louisiana previously sought extradition of a New York doctor in a related case, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul refused, citing those protections. Legal experts say the current case could intensify interstate disputes over whether a state can punish an out-of-state prescriber for sending medication mailed into its borders.
"This is not the only time he sent abortion pills into our state," Murrill told The Associated Press, adding authorities may pursue further indictments.
Medication abortion has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration since 2000. The legal clash in Louisiana illustrates broader tensions across the U.S. after the Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade: states with strict abortion bans are increasingly confronting providers and states that legally protect remote care.
What to Watch Next: Whether California will honor the extradition request; whether federal courts are asked to intervene; and how state shield laws will be interpreted if the case proceeds. The outcome could shape how telemedicine and cross-state prescription of abortion medication are regulated going forward.
Help us improve.
