(LifeSiteNews) — Yet another front has opened in the cross-border abortion wars. Texas man Jerry Rodriguez has filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against California doctor Remy Coeytaux, alleging that the physician sent abortion pills by mail to his girlfriend—and that the pills were used to kill his pre-born child. 

With the fall of Roe v. Wade, vast underground networks of mail-order abortion pills have been established, with pills being sent from blue states where abortion is legal to red states where pre-born children have state protection. This has launched a flurry of litigation between states, with blue states such as New York vowing to protect abortionists who facilitate feticide across state lines, even when the mail-order pills result in harm to girls and women as well as the intended human target of the medication.  

Two Americas are emerging in the post-Roe era. In one, pre-born children are recognized as human beings and entitled to at least some level of protection. In the other, pre-born children are treated as parasites or medical waste, and abortionists are protected by politicians from extradition as they market their wares by mail. 

The latest lawsuit, filed on July 20, seeks civil damages against Remy Coeytaux, with Jerry Rodriguez alleging that the doctor violated both state and federal laws. Rodriguez claims that his girlfriend’s ex-husband paid for the pills, and Coeytaux mailed them from California to Texas. His girlfriend, says Rodriguez, took the pills on at least two occasions under pressure from her estranged ex-husband. 

As the Courthouse News Service reported, “one of the architects of Texas’ widely protested bill from 2021 known as the ‘Texas Heartbeat Act’ is serving as the lead attorney in this new wrongful death lawsuit.” Jonathan Mitchell previously served as the solicitor general of Texas from 2010 to 2015, and is now spearheading the proposed class action lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of Texas, as lead counsel.  

In post-Roe America, much of the litigation fueling the cross-border abortion wars has the potential to establish new case law, and this lawsuit is no different. In his lawsuit, Rodriguez states bluntly that “assisting a self-managed abortion in Texas is an act of murder,” and Mitchell states that the California doctor is in violation of the Comstock Act banning the use of mail to send “obscene material.”  

As CNS reported: “The 1873 law specifically sought to block the mailing of pornography, contraceptives, and any abortion-inducing medicines or materials. Congress repealed the portion regarding contraceptive birth control in 1971, and the law has sat largely dormant since. But present-day opponents of abortion have pushed to use Comstock to block the distribution of abortion medication like mifepristone.” 

Rodriguez, for his part, is seeking an injunction on behalf of “all current and future fathers of unborn children in the United States,” as well as $75,000 in damages. Complicating the case further is the fact that according to Rodriguez, his girlfriend is currently pregnant and he fears that she will “obtain abortion pills from Coeytaux to commit the murder” once again. The personal aspect of this case is clearly very messy. 

Abortion activist Jessica Valentia is very concerned about the case, writing on her Substack that: “That brings us back to the current suit: This filing doesn’t just seek to punish a single abortion provider; it’s an attempt to establish that any provider shipping abortion medication is violating federal law. And while Mitchell doesn’t ask for an injunction against Rodriguez’s girlfriend directly, the suit does request the court block Coeytaux from sending her more pills.” [Emphasis hers.]

In short, the Rodriguez lawsuit is part of a broader attempt by pro-life attorneys and legislators in pro-life red states to stop abortionists and activists in pro-abortion blue states from sending abortion pills across state lines to kill pre-born children. Using the Comstock Act is a bold tactic. It will be interesting to see if it pays off.