Request Denied: Newsom To LA. Over 'Criminal Abortion' Extradition Of North Bay Doctor

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — Gov. Gavin Newsom has blocked Louisiana’s attempt to extradite a Healdsburg-based physician sought by Louisiana for providing abortion medications to a woman, forcefully invoking the California's shield laws and setting up a high-stakes clash over whether abortion bans can be enforced across state lines.

The case revolves around a local physician has been indicted in Louisiana on felony charges of criminal abortion mailing abortion-inducing drugs into the state, setting up a legal clash between abortion-ban states and California.

Abortion is legal in California, but is banned in Louisiana with few exceptions.

Remy Coeytaux, a doctor based in Healdsburg, was indicted in St. Tammany Parish on charges of criminal abortion using abortion-inducing drugs, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill announced this week. The charge carries a potential sentence of one to 50 years at hard labor, depending on the circumstances, according to Murrill.

Coeytaux could not be reached today to respond to the accusations.

However, California Gov. Gavin Newsom refused Louisiana's request to extradite Coeytaux.

Gov. Jeff Landry sent an extradition request Tuesday to return Coeytaux to Louisiana for prosecution.

“I am signing the extradition paperwork to bring this California doctor to justice,” Landry said. “Louisiana has a zero-tolerance policy for those who subvert our laws."

In extradition documents, Murrill described Coeytaux as a “fugitive” and accused him of endangering women by sending abortion medication into the state.

Louisiana Bureau of Investigation agents began looking into the matter in March 2024 after a woman in St. Tammany Parish reported terminating a pregnancy using abortion medication obtained by mail, according to extradition documents.

The woman told investigators she searched online for abortion drugs after discovering her pregnancy in October 2023. She said she found AidAccess, an Austria-based organization that prescribes and ships abortion medication in the United States. She paid $150 via Venmo after completing online forms, according to Assistant Attorney General Barry Milligan.

Several days after payment, in late 2023, the woman received Misoprostol and Mifepristone through the U.S. Postal Service and took the medication, terminating her pregnancy, according to the documents. Using postal tracking information, agents determined the package was mailed from California by Coeytaux, according to accusations by Murrill in the extradition documents.

The case is expected to be prosecuted by District Attorney Collins Sims in Louisiana’s 22nd Judicial District Court unless he recuses himself. State officials said additional investigations involving mail-order abortion drugs are ongoing. A similar case involving a New York doctor is being pursued by by District Attorney Tony Clayton, according to Murrill.

The case tests California's abortion shield laws that blocks cooperation with out-of-state enforcement.

Shortly before 3 p.m. Newsom captioned Landry’s announcement on X: “Louisiana’s request is denied.”