Louisiana law enforcement officials are seeking to extradite Dr Remy Coeytaux, a California-based doctor allegedly responsible for sending abortion pills to a woman in the southern state. The move is the latest escalation in the ongoing legal conflict between states that protect abortion rights and those that prohibit the procedure.
Dr Coeytaux has been charged with violating a Louisiana statute that bans “criminal abortion by means of abortion-inducing drugs”. If convicted, he could face fines and up to 50 years of “hard labour”. The charges stem from allegations that he mailed abortion pills to a woman in Louisiana in October 2023 through the organisation Aid Access, which distributes abortion pills nationwide.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, a Republican, stated that the state would continue to fight “the illegal sending of abortion pills into Louisiana”. She described the practice as “illegal drug trafficking” and vowed to prosecute doctors involved, as well as pursue actions against states that shield them.
The extradition request was filed in a federal lawsuit seeking to limit access to the abortion pill mifepristone. Louisiana had previously issued an arrest warrant for Dr Coeytaux in September 2024 after revealing his involvement in supplying pills to a woman named Rosalie Markezich, who alleged she was coerced by her boyfriend. However, the latest records do not indicate coercion in the case prompting the extradition request.
This case follows a similar effort by Texas to extradite a New York doctor, Margaret Carpenter, for mailing abortion pills. New York Governor Kathy Hochul refused to honour that extradition request, citing the state’s shield law. California has similar protections for abortion providers, though Governor Gavin Newsom’s office has not commented on this case.
