Texas Lawsuit Targets California Doctor in expanding Abortion pill Battle
A California physician has become the first too face legal action under a new Texas law empowering private citizens to sue those who provide abortion medication within the state. The lawsuit, filed in Texas federal court in July 2025, alleges that San Francisco Bay Area doctor Remy Coeytaux violated Texas statutes by mailing abortion-inducing drugs to a patient, escalating a national conflict over reproductive healthcare access.
The legal challenge, brought by Jerry Rodriguez, centers on claims that Coeytaux provided medication to a Texas resident in violation of the state’s restrictions on abortion. Known as the Woman and Child Protection Act, took affect in December and allows any private citizen to sue individuals who “manufacture, distribute, mails, transports, delivers, prescribes, or provides” abortion pills to Texans. This novel legal mechanism has drawn sharp criticism from Democratic lawmakers and reproductive rights advocates, who argue it represents an overreach of state authority and an attempt to circumvent the laws of other states.
“The lawsuit, and others like it, are really about trying to force this issue into federal court and getting federal courts to weigh in on this question of what happens with conflicting state laws related to abortion care,” explained Diana Kasdan, legal and policy director for the Center on Reproductive Health, Law, and Policy at UCLA.
The case highlights the increasingly complex legal landscape following the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Since that ruling, the use of abortion pills has surged as women in states with restrictive abortion laws seek medication from providers in states where it remains legal.
The legal battle extends beyond Texas. Attorney Jonathan mitchell, representing Rodriguez, has filed an amended complaint seeking an injunction to prevent Coeytaux from mailing pills into texas. Simultaneously, Coeytaux is facing legal challenges elsewhere. in 2025, Texas Attorney General ken Paxton issued a cease-and-desist letter, threatening prosecution if Coeytaux continued to send abortion medication into the state. More recently, Louisiana Attorney general Liz Murrill announced an indictment against the doctor, accusing her of “trafficking” illegal abortion pills.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has staunchly defended Coeytaux, refusing Louisiana’s request to extradite her to face criminal charges. “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 healthcare services. Not today. Not ever,” Newsom stated.
California and New York have enacted shield laws designed to protect doctors from out-of-state investigations and prosecutions related to providing legal reproductive care. However, these protections are being actively challenged by states seeking to restrict abortion access. Opponents of HB 7 argue the law incentivizes frivolous lawsuits against practitioners offering telehealth services.
Legal scholars predict the conflict will ultimately be resolved in federal courts. “HB 7 on its own doesn’t eliminate these tensions or determine that Texas is going to win these conflicts. It’s just meant to be more ammunition for that battle between the states,” said Mary Ziegler, a law professor at UC Davis. “One of the arguments for overturning Roe was that federal courts were going to be taken out of the equation… But of course when state legislators and state courts are fighting each other, the people who are going to step in and resolve those conflicts are the same federal judges.”
Nancy Northup, president and chief executive of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which represents Coeytaux, characterized the texas law as part of a broader effort to restrict access to abortion pills. “Abortion opponents have launched a full-scale attack on abortion pills – in the courts, in legislatures, and inside the FDA. People need to wake up to the fact that the anti-abortion movement is trying everything possible to have mifepristone taken off the market nationwide or become much harder to get.”
Coeytaux could not be reached for comment. The Texas civil lawsuit seeks monetary penalties and aims to prevent Coeytaux from utilizing California’s shield law to countersue. The outcome of this case, and others like it, will likely shape the future of abortion access in a post-Roe America.
