A Texas man is suing a doctor in California he claims mailed his girlfriend pills to end her pregnancy - in what may be a legal first - and a test of new state abortion laws.
Jerry Rodriguez filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Remy Coeytaux, after the doctor sent the abortion-inducing drugs across state lines in order to “murder his unborn son,” Rodriguez claimed.
It appears to be the first time an interstate lawsuit for wrongful death over an abortion has been filed, according to The Washington Post.
In Texas, a person who assists a pregnant woman in obtaining a self-managed abortion commits the crime of murder and can be sued for wrongful death, the lawsuit, filed in Texas federal court and obtained by The Independent, states. The woman herself cannot be prosecuted.
The suit adds it is also a state jail felony for anyone other than a Texas-licensed physician to provide an abortion-inducing drug for the purpose of inducing an abortion.
“In violation of these and many other laws, defendant Remy Coeytaux mailed abortion-inducing drugs into Texas that were used to murder Jerry Rodriguez’s unborn child,” the complaint reads.
Rodriguez is suing Coeytaux for $75,000 over what he claims is wrongful death. He’s also seeking an injunction to stop the doctor from distributing abortion-inducing drugs in violation of state or federal law.
The injunction, the suit states, is being sought “on behalf of a class of all current and future fathers of unborn children in the United States.”
But such state legislation clashes with that of California, which retains a so-called “Shield Law” to protect medical professionals such as Coeytaux. The law provides that “California will not deliver a person accused or charged with committing a crime related to abortion/gender-affirming care over to law enforcement officials.”
This includes situations where a California-licensed pharmacist dispenses an abortion-inducing drug mifepristone to a patient in a state with abortion-restrictive laws.
According to Rodriguez’s suit, he began dating his girlfriend in June 2024, while she was separated from her husband, but not yet divorced. The Independent has chosen not to name the woman, due to privacy reasons and because she is not a defendant in the lawsuit.
The suit alleges that the woman’s husband, Adam Garza, twice ordered the abortion medication from Coeytaux after she became pregnant by Rodriguez “with the intent of using them to murder Mr. Rodriguez’s unborn child,” and “pressured her” to take the pills.
A Venmo receipt confirming Garza’s purchase of the drugs from Coeytaux was included in the lawsuit, with a reference of “‘Aed axes” – allegedly a homonym for “Aid Access,” an organization that ships abortion-inducing drugs into jurisdictions where abortion is not legal.
“Defendant Coeytaux caused the death of Mr. Rodriguez’s unborn child through his wrongful acts,” the lawsuit states.
“Although [the woman] cannot be charged with murder for her role in killing her unborn child, her immunity does not shield Coeytaux from liability for aiding or abetting or directly participating in the murder.”
“Mr. Rodriguez seeks this injunction on behalf of a class of all current and future fathers of unborn children in the United States.”
The Independent has reached out to Dr Remy Coeytaux for comment on the lawsuit.
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