Lawsuit accuses Bay Area doctor of violating Texas’ anti-abortion laws

By SOPHIE AUSTIN, Associated Press

SACRAMENTO — A man this week accused a California doctor of violating Texas’ anti-abortion policies, testing a new law in the GOP-led state allowing private citizens to sue abortion pill providers for mailing the medication.

The lawsuit comes after Louisiana, also a Republican-led state, last month pushed to extradite Dr. Rémy Coeytaux, who is based in the San Francisco Bay Area, accusing him of illegally mailing abortion pills. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said in January he blocked Louisiana’s attempt to punish the doctor.

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Texas and Louisiana have some of the strictest anti-abortion laws in the country, while California aims to protect abortion providers from criminal prosecution for treating out-of-state patients.

The lawsuit in Texas, filed Sunday by a man named Jerry Rodriguez, accuses Coeytaux of breaking Texas law banning anyone from providing a pregnant woman with abortion medication.

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, it says. The lawsuit accuses Coeytaux of wrongful death and seeks $100,000 in damages.

Coeytaux might be the first doctor sued under the Texas law allowing private citizens to file lawsuits over the issue, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights, a legal group defending him.

“Texas officials have already been going after doctors outside their borders, and now they’ve incentivized private citizens to do their bidding,” said Nancy Northup, the center’s president and CEO, in a statement.