Louisiana seeks California doctor's extradition, testing the limits of shield laws

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: AP

Updated 5:12 PM EST, January 13, 2026


BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana pushed Tuesday to extradite a California doctor accused of mailing abortion pills, setting up a likely test of laws designed to protect telehealth providers who ship abortion pills nationwide.

This is the second time Louisiana has pursued an out-of-state doctor under its abortion restrictions, with Republican Gov. Jeff Landry saying on social media that he wants to bring the abortion provider “to justice.” The two criminal cases pit Louisiana, which has some of the strictest abortion laws in the country, against jurisdictions that have enacted what are known as shield laws for providers who facilitate abortions from afar in states with bans.

“Louisiana has a zero tolerance policy for those who subvert our laws, seek to hurt women, and promote abortion,” Landry said in a post X announcing he’d sent the extradition paperwork. California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment

Remy Coeytaux, a physician in the San Francisco Bay Area, faces a criminal charge of abortion by means of abortion-inducing drugs, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill announced Tuesday. If convicted, the doctor could face up to 50 years in jail and fines, Murrill said.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/louisiana-california-abortion-pill-extradite-doctor-f99a0f638daa6996bf2affd9194b2809

[Roy Rolling]

1. Morons in Government

An Attorney General who’s a toady of a Governor who’s a toady for Trump.

Somebody please help us.

[jfz9580m]

2. That is fucking awful

50 years for working against barbaric norms?
I support Dr. Coeytaux..goddamn barbarians..

[BettyBlueDot]

3. "Seek to hurt women".... Landry's dystopia

Hypocrite fanatic who is actually seeking to hurt women, proclaims he has zero tolerance for those who "seek to hurt women." Typical magat opposite-speak.... up is down, black is white, hate is love, lies are truth.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

4. They tried this against a New York doctor and did not succeed

The indictment of a New York doctor is an attempt to nationalize abortion bans across state lines. New York has a protection law that will be tested.

Link to tweet

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/new-york-doctor-indicted-prescribing-abortion-pill-louisiana-rcna190214

Friday’s indictment could be the first direct test of New York’s shield laws, which are intended to protect prescribers who use telehealth to provide abortion pills to patients in states where abortion is banned.

“We always knew that overturning Roe v. Wade wasn’t the end of the road for anti-abortion politicians. That’s why I worked with the Legislature to pass nation-leading laws to protect providers and patients,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a prepared release.

Attorney General Letitia James, who would enforce the shield law, called the indictment a "cowardly attempt" to "weaponize the law against out-of-state providers is unjust and un-American."

James added, "we will not allow bad actors to undermine our providers’ ability to deliver critical care. Medication abortion is safe, effective, and necessary, and New York will ensure that it remains available to all Americans who need it.”

I will be watching this case. I support the NY legal protection law

https://apnews.com/article/abortion-new-york-doctor-protection-shield-161fc73174a04f68e93c4312b3b21ea0

— A law to protect doctors in New York who prescribe abortion pills to patients in states where the procedure is outlawed was signed Friday by Gov. Kathy Hochul, who said the measure would serve women living in states with bans.

Coming a year after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the nationwide right to abortion, the law bars New York officials from cooperating with certain legal actions initiated in states where abortion is banned, such as arrests or extraditions. New York joins several other states with similar telehealth “shield laws.”

“Extremist lawmakers in other states can stop their health care providers from supplying abortion pills. If that’s your state, I feel sorry for your constituents. But they can’t stop us. They can’t stop our providers,” Hochul, a Democrat, said at a bill signing ceremony.....

Also Friday, Arizona’s Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a sweeping executive order to protect anyone involved with a legally obtained abortion from prosecution.

The order bans local prosecutors from bringing abortion-related charges and state agencies from assisting in any criminal investigations without a court order. In addition, Arizona will not honor any extradition requests for people wanted for assisting, providing or seeking an abortion.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, is the only official who can oversee abortion-related prosecutions.