California Gov. Gavin Newsom has refused to extradite an abortionist accused of illegally shipping dangerous abortion drugs into Louisiana, denying justice to a woman who suffered lasting emotional trauma after being coerced into taking the pills that killed her unborn child.
Newsom, a Democrat, announced Wednesday that his state would not honor an extradition request from Louisiana for abortioist Rémy Coeytaux, a California abortion pill seller charged with prescribing and mailing mifepristone to Rosalie Markezich, a Louisiana resident, in October 2023.
Markezich, who discovered she was pregnant at the time, was pressured by her boyfriend to obtain the drugs via email from Coeytaux, according to Louisiana officials.
She now grieves the loss of her child and endures ongoing emotional harm from the experience.
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“Louisiana’s request is denied,” Newsom said in a statement. “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 decision came one day after Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican, signed the extradition paperwork to bring Coeytaux to justice for violating the state’s abortion ban, which took effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Landry emphasized Louisiana’s commitment to protecting women and unborn life, stating, “I am signing the extradition paperwork to bring this California doctor to justice. Louisiana has a zero tolerance policy for those who subvert our laws, seek to hurt women, and promote abortion.”
He added, “I know Gavin Newsom supports abortion in all its forms, but that doesn’t work in Louisiana. We are unapologetically pro-life.”
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, also a Republican, announced the criminal warrant against Coeytaux on Tuesday, describing the shipment of abortion pills as “illegal drug trafficking” that harms women.
“We are going to continue to fight the illegal sending of abortion pills into Louisiana. It is hurting women and it’s illegal,” Murrill said.
She further stated, “We have officially sent paperwork to the governor’s office to send extradition papers to the Governor of California to execute a warrant against an abortion doctor who is illegally sending abortion pills into our state.”
The case highlights the ongoing interstate conflict over abortion since the 2022 Supreme Court ruling, with about a third of states like Louisiana enforcing bans while others, including California, have enacted shield laws to protect providers who send dangerous abortion drugs across state lines.
California’s telemedicine abortion shield law took effect in January 2024, and Newsom had previously issued an executive order in 2022 refusing to cooperate with out-of-state investigations targeting abortions.
Louisiana authorities became aware of Markezich’s case in March 2024 and issued the arrest warrant for Coeytaux in May 2024, though documents do not specify who reported the incident.
This marks the second time Louisiana has charged out-of-state abortionists for similar actions.
Murrill has vowed to pursue further actions against states shielding such providers, saying, “We’ll also pursue actions against the states that are shielding those doctors allowing them to illegally try to nullify our laws.”
She added, “We’ve tried to enforce our law against these out-of-state providers, but we’re being blocked by governors in states like New York and California who have passed shield laws to protect these abortion providers.”
Pro-life advocates have criticized the relaxed federal regulations on mifepristone, arguing they enable coercion and increase health risks like hemorrhaging and infections for women.
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins called the drug a “murder weapon” that abusers use “often against a woman’s will.”
Louisiana, along with Florida, Missouri and Texas, sued the Food and Drug Administration in October 2025 to reinstate safeguards for mifepristone, challenging a 2023 policy change that removed in-person dispensing requirements.
From April to June 2024, an average of 617 abortions per month in Louisiana involved mifepristone shipped from out-of-state, primarily California and New York.
It remains unclear how Louisiana will proceed if Newsom continues to block the extradition, but officials have indicated they will keep prosecuting cases to uphold state sovereignty over abortion laws.
