Louisiana seeks arrest of California doctor accused of sending abortion pills to the Bayou State

The Bayou State has reportedly issued an arrest warrant for a Northern California doctor accused of sending abortion pills to a Louisiana woman in 2023 — a woman who has indicated she was pressured to take the drugs and is now "haunt[ed]" by her chemical abortion.

"On multiple occasions, I have raised concerns about the unlawful distribution of these pills in our sate and the harm that it does to women," Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a statement. "It’s dangerous, irresponsible, unethical, and illegal to distribute these pills to strangers in violation of the criminal laws of our state, without any relationship whatsoever to the individual who may ultimately be consuming them."

'I would have told the doctor that I wanted to keep my baby.'

"I will enforce and defend the laws of our state, including suing the governors whose shield laws purport to protect these individuals from criminal conduct in Louisiana," added Murrill.

The warrant for Remy Coeytaux's arrest is the latest action in a broader battle between red and blue states over federal approvals for mifepristone — an abortion drug that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has indicated is linked to a number of serious adverse events as well as the deaths of dozens of mothers.

Rosalie Markezich, the recipient of the drug who is now "haunt[ed]" by her chemical abortion, has joined Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill in requesting to join a lawsuit aimed at prompting the FDA to prohibit telehealth prescriptions to mifepristone. Texas and Florida are similarly keen to get involved in the lawsuit that was revived last year by Missouri, Kansas, and Idaho.

Markezich claimed in a court filing earlier this month that despite initially celebrating her pregnancy, her boyfriend "soon changed his mind," then used her personal email address and mailing address to obtain mifepristone and misoprostol "from an online provider that his sister has used multiple times before."

RELATED: The abortion pill’s body count — and the progressive cover-up behind it

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill. Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images

A few days after allegedly forwarding to Remy Coeytaux the $150 her boyfriend sent her, Markezich received the drugs by mail.

According to her declaration, Markezich changed her mind about killing her child, but her boyfriend, who apparently "had anger issues and a criminal record," allegedly coerced her into taking them — and she proved unable to throw them back up.

"The trauma of my chemical abortion still haunts me," said Markezich. "Had the FDA required an in-person visit with a doctor before dispensing the drugs, my boyfriend would never [have] been able to obtain the drugs that he made me take. I also would have told the doctor that I did not want to take them. And I would have told the doctor that I wanted to keep my baby."

'Safeguards for women regarding the administration of mifepristone have been significantly reduced.'

Murrill, who has not elaborated on what charges Coeytaux faces or when the warrant was issued, said in a statement to the Associated Press that Markezich is bravely representing many women "who are victimized by the illegal, immoral, and unethical conduct of these drug dealers."

Coeytaux, who did not immediately respond to the Associated Press' request for comment, is also named in a civil complaint filed in July with the federal court for the Southern District of Texas.

The Texas complaint, filed on behalf of Jerry Rodriguez, alleges that Rodriguez's girlfriend, Kendal Garza, became pregnant with his child but was ultimately pressured by her estranged husband to use abortion drugs allegedly obtained from Coeytaux "to murder Mr. Rodriguez's unborn child."

Weeks after the filing of Rodriguez's suit, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ordered Coeytaux to cease and desist from mailing abortion drugs into the state of Texas and indicated such conduct not only violates Texas state law but the federal Comstock Act of 1873, which prohibits the mailing of abortion-related drugs.

Whereas some red states have laws on the books enabling mothers to take legal action against out-of-state abortion drug pushers, several Democrat-run states — including California, as of Friday — have passed laws shielding abortion-pill peddlers from legal consequence for violating other states' abortion bans.

While the multi-state lawsuit that Markezich and Murrill seek to join could end up resolving this conflict, the Trump administration may end up deciding independently to impose restrictions on mifepristone prescriptions.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Martin Makary reportedly told Republican state attorneys general in a Sept. 19 letter that the Department of Health and Human Services was conducting a safety review of the abortion drug.

"Recent studies — such as the study by the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC), which you highlighted in your letter — indicate potential dangers that may attend offering mifepristone without sufficient medical support or supervision," said the letter. "FDA's own data collected between 2000 to 2012 indicated 2,740 adverse events, including 416 events involving blood loss requiring transfusions. Since then, safeguards for women regarding the administration of mifepristone have been significantly reduced."

A coalition of 20 Democratic attorneys general cited Kennedy's letter in a joint statement on Monday where they noted, "If access to mifepristone is challenged, we will take action to protect it."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!