California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he was blocking Louisiana’s attempt to extradite a doctor in California accused of mailing abortion pills.
Newsom’s announcement came Wednesday, a day after Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said he sent extradition paperwork in an effort to bring the physician “to justice.”
Newsom said extraditing the doctor would have violated an executive order he signed in 2022 that bars 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,” Newsom said in a statement. “Not today. Not ever.”
Louisiana was pushing to extradite Remy Coeytaux, a physician in the San Francisco Bay Area. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said Tuesday Coeytaux faced a criminal charge of abortion by means of abortion-inducing drugs and risked spending up to 50 years in jail if convicted.
Landry’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Newsom’s announcement.
An email and a telephone message seeking comment from Coeytaux on the extradition push went unanswered.