The state of Louisiana is looking to extradite a Sonoma County doctor whom they're accusing of providing abortion pills to a Louisiana woman — something that state officials already tried to do with a New York doctor last year.
This all seems like some grand, red state-versus-blue state political theater, as Governor Jeff Landry of Louisiana and Attorney General Liz Murrill have announced an indictment and extradition order for Dr. Rémy Coeytaux of Sonoma County. Much like with the drama Landry and Murrill concocted last year with an extradition for a New York State doctor, which New York Governor Kathy Hochul has refused to comply with, this order is also likely to go nowhere thanks to California's abortion shield law.
The New York Times reports that the Louisiana indictment came with an extradition request that Governor Landry has already said he would sign, much like he signed the previous one for the New York doctor.
The Center for Reproductive Rights, speaking on behalf of Dr. Coeytaux, issued a statement saying that the allegations against him "are unproven and should not be reported as fact." The organization is representing Dr. Coeytaux in another case brought by the boyfriend of a Texas woman who was apparently assisted in her abortion with pills obtained by mail.
Nancy Northup, the president and CEO of the the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement that "the state of Louisiana is going after doctors for allegedly harming women, yet they are enforcing an abortion ban that puts women’s lives at risk every day."
As the Chronicle notes, Murrill borrowed a page from the antiabortion movement in comparing the mailing of FDA-approved abortion medication to narcotics trafficking, saying "This is not healthcare; it’s drug dealing,” and, “Individuals who flagrantly and intentionally violate our laws by sending illegal abortion pills into our state placing women in danger."
The state of Louisiana has classified the drugs mifepristone and misoprostol as dangerous controlled substances.
Northrup added in her statement, "Thousands of women seek abortion pills every year because abortion is banned in their state, and that will not change until abortion is legal everywhere."
Previously: California Planned Parenthood Loses $300 Million In Federal Funding In Latest Legal Blow
Top image: Attorney General of Louisiana Liz Murrill speaks to the media during a press conference on January 1, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. At least 10 people were killed on Bourbon Street when a person allegedly drove into a crowd in the early morning hours of New Year's Day Dozens more were injured after a suspect in a rented pickup truck allegedly drove around barricades and through a crowd of New Year's revelers on Bourbon Street. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
