Sacramento, California – A Texas man has filed a lawsuit against a California physician, testing a recently enacted Texas law that allows private citizens to sue providers accused of mailing abortion-inducing medication into the state. The case centers on Texas House Bill 7, which authorizes civil lawsuits against abortion medication providers and permits damages of at least $100,000 per alleged violation.
According to the complaint, Galveston County resident Jerry Rodriguez is suing Dr. Rémy Coeytaux, a physician based in the San Francisco Bay Area, alleging that the doctor unlawfully provided abortion pills to Rodriguez’s partner. The lawsuit claims the medication was ordered at the direction of the woman’s estranged husband and used to terminate pregnancies in 2024 and 2025. Rodriguez alleges the actions violated Texas law and amounted to wrongful death.
The lawsuit was filed with the assistance of attorney Jonathan Mitchell, a former Texas solicitor general who played a key role in crafting the state’s abortion enforcement framework. Rodriguez is seeking at least $100,000 in statutory damages and an injunction preventing Coeytaux from providing abortion medication to patients in Texas.
The filing follows recent efforts by Louisiana officials to extradite Coeytaux over similar allegations, a move that was blocked by California Gov. Gavin Newsom. California has enacted so-called shield laws designed to protect abortion providers from out-of-state criminal or civil penalties.
Legal experts say the case could be the first to test Texas’ expanded private enforcement mechanism, escalating tensions between states with sharply different abortion policies.
Sources:
Discover more from News Facts Network
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
