Attorney General Liz Murrill has obtained an indictment for a California doctor who she alleges sent abortion pills to Louisiana in violation of state law.
Murrill said in a news release Tuesday that Dr. Rémy Coeytaux has been charged in St. Tammany Parish with criminal abortion by means of abortion-inducing drugs. She has asked Gov. Jeff Landry to approve an extradition warrant to bring Coeytaux to Louisiana to face the charge, though California authorities are unlikely to cooperate.
In 2024, Louisiana classified the reproductive health drugs mifepristone and misoprostol as Schedule IV controlled dangerous substances, the same designation given to drugs with the potential for addiction and abuse, such as Valium and Xanax. The medications are the most commonly prescribed for abortion, but they also have other life-saving medical uses.
Louisiana became the first state to set criminal penalties for anyone who handles Mifepristone and misoprostol without proper clearance. Offenses can be punished by one to 50 years in prison, depending on the circumstances.
The indictment, handed down Jan. 8 in St. Tammany Parish, follows an arrest warrant for Coeytaux issued in May 2024 for allegedly mailing abortion pills to a patient in Louisiana.
“This is not healthcare; it’s drug dealing,” Murrill said in a news release. “Individuals who flagrantly and intentionally violate our laws by sending illegal abortion pills into our state are placing women in danger. We’ve seen the proof of that, with women showing up in emergency rooms after taking these pills and being coerced into abortions.”
Coeytaux did not immediately respond to a message left at his office phone number, and a representative with the Center for Reproductive Rights responded to an email sent to Coeytaux’s office. The organization represents Coeytaux in a separate civil lawsuit.
“These allegations are just that: allegations. As such, they are unproven and should not be reported as fact …” Nancy Northup, the center’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “While we can’t comment on this matter itself, one thing is clear — 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. Women continue to die from being denied abortion care.
“Abortion pills are widely used and incredibly safe, including when provided via telehealth. However, women should be able to get safe and legal abortion care in their own state. Thousands of women seek abortion pills via mail every year because abortion is banned in their state, and that will not change until abortion is legal everywhere.”
Murrill is a co-plaintiff in a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that ultimately seeks to require in-person doctors’ visits to obtain mifepristone and misoprostol. Rosalie Markezich is the lead plaintiff in the case. According to the lawsuit, Markezich said her boyfriend at the time ordered abortion drugs from an out-of-state doctor in October 2023 using her email address. Markezich said her boyfriend pressured her to take the pills, and she was unable to regurgitate them.
Louisiana issued an arrest warrant for “a California-based doctor” in 2024 after learning about what happened to Markezich, according to the lawsuit. A copy of Coeytaux’s arrest warrant that Murrill’s office provided Tuesday does not name Markezich, but it details a “complainant” who purchased abortion medication online in October 2023. The warrant links Coeytaux to AidAccess, an Austria-based business that ships medication to the United States.
This is the second instance of Murrill bringing charges against an out-of-state physician for prescribing abortion medication to a Louisiana woman. A year ago, a West Baton Rouge Parish grand jury indicted Dr. Margaret Carpenter of New York for providing pills to a Port Allen woman for her pregnant daughter, who was a minor at the time.
Attempts to extradite Carpenter to face prosecution in Louisiana have run into a New York “shield law” that protects telehealth providers from criminal consequences in states that have outlawed abortion. California has similar protections for its health care providers against investigations and prosecutions from other states.