Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill’s office has brought criminal charges against a California physician for allegedly providing abortion medication to a Louisiana woman via telemedicine.
A criminal arrest warrant has been signed for Remy Coeytaux, MD, PhD, a physician in the Bay Area, according to documents reviewed by Becker’s. A request for his extradition from California to Louisiana has been sent to Gov. Jeff Landry.
Here are five other things to know about the case:
1. Dr. Coeytaux is accused of mailing mifepristone and misoprostol to a Louisiana woman in 2023. The woman reportedly sought the medication through AidAccess, a telemedicine service based in Austria, according to the application for requisition issued by the state.
2. Louisiana in 2024 classified reproductive health drugs mifepristone and misoprostol as schedule IV controlled dangerous substances. Criminal charges of abortion by means of abortion-inducing drugs in Louisiana carry sentences of up to 50 years in prison.
3. Ms. Murrill in a Jan. 13 news release likened the physicians’ alleged prescription practices to “drug dealing” and accused physicians who prescribe abortion-inducing medication of “placing women in danger.”
4. Dr. Coeytaux is also the subject of a separate federal lawsuit filed in July in Texas, in which a man alleges the physician illegally provided abortion medication to the man’s girlfriend.
Dr. Coeytaux could not be reached for comment, but Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, responded on his behalf via email, stating:
“These allegations are just that: allegations. As such, they are unproven and should not be reported as fact. The Center for Reproductive Rights represents Dr. Coeytaux against civil charges he is facing, not these criminal charges,” she said. “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.”
5. This is the second time Ms. Murrill has attempted to extradite a physician. In 2025, her office brought charges against a physician in New York, but was blocked by the state’s shield laws. California has similar protections for its healthcare providers against investigations and prosecutions from other states.
6. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Jan. 14 that he would block the extradition attempt, KCRA reported Jan. 15. Mr. Newsom said extraditing Dr. Coeytaux would violate an executive order he signed in 2022 barring state agencies in his administration from assisting other states’ efforts to prosecute abortion providers.
“We will not allow extremist politicians from other states to reach into California and try to punish doctors based on allegations that they provided reproductive health care services,” he said in a statement. “Not today. Not ever.”
