Summary in prose
A man filed a lawsuit in Texas accusing a California doctor of violating the state’s anti-abortion law by providing abortion medication, a case that tests a Republican-led state’s move to expand enforcement through private lawsuits. The lawsuit, filed Sunday, names Dr. Rémy Coeytaux, who is based in the San Francisco Bay Area, and alleges that he violated Texas’ ban on anyone from providing a pregnant woman with abortion medication.
The suit was filed by Jerry Rodriguez and asserts that Rodriguez was dating a woman who became pregnant with their child. The lawsuit says the woman’s estranged husband then ordered abortion medication from Coeytaux, which she used to terminate her pregnancy, and it accuses Coeytaux of wrongful death while seeking $100,000 in damages.
The Texas case comes after Louisiana, another Republican-led state with strict abortion restrictions, pursued steps to extradite Coeytaux. Louisiana accused him of illegally mailing abortion pills, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in January that he blocked Louisiana’s attempt to punish the doctor.
Texas and Louisiana are among the states with the strictest anti-abortion laws, while California has taken steps aimed at protecting abortion providers from criminal prosecution for treating out-of-state patients. The AP report said Texas’ lawsuit is aimed at testing the GOP-led model in which private citizens can bring claims against abortion pill providers for mailing the medication.
Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement that Texas officials had already been going after doctors outside their borders and “now they’ve incentivized private citizens to do their bidding.” The legal group defending Coeytaux also said the doctor might be among the first sued under the Texas law that allows private citizens to file such actions.