Newsom rejects Louisiana effort to extradite abortion doctor
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday rejected a request to extradite a California physician accused of providing abortion medication to a Louisiana patient, marking the latest clash between states with sharply different abortion laws following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
“Louisiana’s request is denied,” Newsom said in a statement. “My position on this has been clear since 2022: 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. Not today. Not ever.”
The extradition request stems from criminal charges filed in Louisiana against Dr. Rémy Coeytaux, a California-based physician accused of prescribing and mailing abortion pills to a Louisiana resident in 2023 through a telemedicine service. Louisiana Atty. Gen. Liz Murrill announced the indictment Tuesday, and Gov. Jeff Landry said he would sign an extradition order.
“It’s appalling to see the California Governor and Attorney General openly admitting that they will protect an individual from being held accountable for illegal, medically unethical, and dangerous conduct that led to a woman being coerced into terminating the life of her unborn child,” Murrill said in response to California’s actions.
Since the Supreme Court eliminated the constitutional right to abortion in 2022, a growing number of states have moved to criminalize reproductive care. About 16 states, including Texas and Louisiana, now ban abortion almost entirely, with some allowing criminal penalties or civil lawsuits against providers.
Those laws have heightened concerns among physicians about potential legal exposure when traveling to or practicing across state lines — even when their home states explicitly protect reproductive and gender-affirming care.
Newsom’s office said federal and state law give the governor discretion to decline extradition requests when the alleged conduct occurred in California. The governor pointed to an executive order he issued shortly after the Supreme Court’s abortion ruling, as well as subsequent legislation, designed to shield California providers and patients from out-of-state investigations and prosecutions.
The case underscores a widening legal standoff between states with near-total abortion bans and those that have enacted so-called shield laws to protect providers who offer abortion care, including medication abortions, to patients from restrictive states. California is among at least eight states with such protections.
Newsom cast his decision to reject the extradition as part of a broader push by California to protect reproductive rights as Republican-led states move to restrict abortion access.
“We will never be complicit with Trump’s war on women,” Newsom said.