CNA Staff, Aug 1, 2025 /
11:45 am
Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news.
Texas man files lawsuit against California abortionist who sent abortion drugs across state lines
A Texas man filed a federal lawsuit against a California abortionist who shipped drugs across state lines, enabling his girlfriend to end the lives of two of their unborn children.
The lawsuit takes place amid ongoing legal and political debate over the soundness of abortion shield laws — laws that protect abortionists in their home state even if they break abortion laws in other states.
Legal experts have noted that this is the first lawsuit filed in a federal court to run up against the shield laws.
In the Texas lawsuit, California’s shield laws could protect the abortionist, Remy Coeytaux, who sent drugs to Jerry Rodriguez’s girlfriend, leading to the death of two of their unborn children.
While California law protects Coeytaux, Rodriquez alleged that the abortionist broke Texas law by aiding the abortions in 2024. Abortion is largely illegal in Texas with narrow exceptions.
Prominent pro-life lawyer Jonathan Mitchell, formerly the solicitor general of Texas from 2010 to 2015, is seeking an injunction in the suit on behalf of “fathers of unborn children.”
Texas attorney general files lawsuit over New York abortion shield laws
In a similar case, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is taking legal action after New York employed its abortion shield laws to protect an abortionist who shipped abortion drugs into Texas.
The legal dispute began in December 2024 when Paxton sued New York abortionist Margaret Carpenter for sending abortion drugs to Texas. The drugs led to the death of an unborn child and serious medical complications for the mother.
A Texas judge ordered Carpenter to stop prescribing abortion pills to Texas residents and gave her a $100,000 fine. Paxton this week, meanwhile, filed a legal petition against Acting County Clerk for Ulster County Taylor Bruck to enforce the judge’s ruling in New York.
The Ulster County Clerk’s office “plainly rejected any attempt by Texas to enforce the judgment and authorize collection of the penalty,” Paxton’s office said in a press release.
Paxton called Carpenter “a radical abortionist who must face justice.”
“No matter where they reside, pro-abortion extremists who send drugs designed to kill the unborn into Texas will face the full force of our state’s pro-life laws,” Paxton said.
Oklahoma governor directs state agencies to withhold funding from abortion providers
(Story continues below)
Subscribe to our daily newsletter
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt on Thursday issued an executive order directing state agencies to “cease all public funding” for abortion providers and affiliated organizations.
“Oklahoma is a pro-life state, and our policies should reflect that at every level of our government,” Stitt said in the release. “We won’t allow tax dollars to indirectly subsidize and flow into the abortion industry under the guise of women’s health.”
The directive will require providers who want to access state Medicaid dollars to affirm whether or not they are involved with any “abortion-related activities.” Providers who take part in such activities will see their state contracts terminated, the order says.
The measure “also prohibits all state agencies from providing grants, contracts, or funding of any kind to abortion-affiliated providers directly or indirectly.”
Kate Quiñones is a staff writer for Catholic News Agency and a fellow of the College Fix. She has been published by the Wall Street Journal, the Denver Catholic Register, and CatholicVote, and she graduated from Hillsdale College. She lives in Colorado with her husband.
