In a groundbreaking legal battle, a Texas man, Jerry Rodriguez, has launched a federal wrongful death lawsuit against a California physician, Dr. Remy Coeytaux, accusing him of "murdering" his unborn children by mailing abortion pills across state lines. This case, filed in the Southern District of Texas, is a bold test of how far anti-abortion advocates can push against blue state protections using obscure federal laws and Texas statutes.

Rodriguez claims that Dr. Coeytaux facilitated illegal self-managed abortions by sending abortion-inducing drugs to Galveston County, Texas, where they were used to terminate two pregnancies in 2024 and 2025. The heart-wrenching details allege that Rodriguez’s girlfriend was pressured by her estranged husband—who reportedly paid Coeytaux via Venmo—to take the pills, ending pregnancies Rodriguez insists were his. Ultrasound images of a second pregnancy, claimed to be a boy, are part of the evidence submitted.

What makes this case particularly explosive is its revival of the Comstock Act, an 1873 federal law banning the mailing of abortion-related materials. Though largely dormant for over a century, it’s now being wielded as a weapon by Rodriguez’s attorney, Jonathan Mitchell, the mind behind Texas’s controversial heartbeat law. The suit argues Coeytaux violated this federal statute and Texas laws requiring in-state oversight for abortion procedures—none of which the California doctor allegedly followed.

Rodriguez is not holding back, seeking over $75,000 in damages, a national class certification for fathers of unborn children, and a permanent block on Coeytaux mailing such drugs. This lawsuit sidesteps California’s abortion shield laws by filing directly in federal court, potentially carving a new path for anti-abortion litigants to target out-of-state providers.

As this case unfolds, it’s clear it could reshape the battle over abortion pills post-Dobbs, challenging the very supply chain that sustains access in restrictive states. With no response yet from Coeytaux, the legal and cultural fireworks are just beginning.

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Texas Man Sues California Doctor Over Abortion Pills in Unborn Child Murder Case