Louisiana Indicts a California Doctor Over Abortion Pills

U.S.|Louisiana Indicts Another Out-of-State Doctor Over Abortion Pills

Louisiana officials on Tuesday moved to extradite a California doctor the state indicted on a charge of providing abortion pills to a Louisiana resident, escalating an ongoing legal battle over whether health providers in states supportive of abortion access can send medication to states with abortion bans.

Gov. Jeff Landry of Louisiana, a Republican, said he would sign the extradition order on Tuesday, hours after Attorney General Liz Murrill announced the indictment against the doctor, Rémy Coeytaux of Sonoma County, Calif.

It is the second time that Mr. Landry and Ms. Murrill, also a Republican, have sought criminal prosecution and extradition of an out-of-state doctor over the prescription of abortion pills. Last year, Louisiana sought to extradite a New York-based abortion provider, Dr. Margaret Carpenter, whom the state indicted on similar charges. Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York, a Democrat, has refused to agree to her extradition, citing the state’s abortion shield law that protects health providers who prescribe and send pills to other states.

California has a similar abortion shield law, which precludes officials there from cooperating with extradition requests, subpoenas or other out-of-state legal actions taken against abortion providers in the state.

California’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, said in a statement Tuesday evening that “California is proudly a safe haven for reproductive rights. We will not allow others to undermine our rights and freedoms.” Neither Mr. Bonta nor California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, indicated on Tuesday whether the state would refuse to extradite the doctor.

“Louisiana has a zero tolerance policy for those who subvert our laws, seek to hurt women, and promote abortion,” Mr. Landry said in a post on social media on Tuesday. “I know Gavin Newsom supports abortion in all its forms, but that doesn’t work in Louisiana.”