abortion

Texas Father Sues Out-of-State Abortionist for Killing His Preborn Children

A Texas father is suing an out-of-state abortionist for contributing to the death of his preborn children.

The federal class action suit, filed on behalf of “all current and future fathers of unborn children in the United States,” could stop abortionists from mailing mifepristone, the chemical abortion drug, into pro-life states.

The Case

Jerry Rodriguez alleges Remy Coeytaux, a California abortionist, illegally shipped chemical abortion pills into Texas, which caused the death of his two children.

Coeytaux represents a network of medical providers that prescribe and facilitate the shipment of chemical abortion pills into pro-life states. His sister, long-time abortion activist Francine Coeytaux, co-founded Plan C Pills — a website that connects women with online abortion providers.

Read the Daily Citizen’s story on black market abortion pills.

Rodriguez filed the suit on July 20 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas Galveston Division. He’s represented by former Texas Solicitor General Jonathan Mitchell, who helped write some of the nation’s most stringent pro-life laws.

Shield Laws

Abortionists are circumventing pro-life laws by prescribing chemical abortion kits online and sending them through the mail.

Several operate out of pro-abortion states with shield laws — laws promising not to investigate mail-order abortionists or cooperate with investigations from pro-life states.

Eight states — California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington — have passed laws explicitly protecting abortionists who prescribe chemical abortions to out-of-state patients.

Fifteen others offer at least some protection against out-of-state investigations and lawsuits.

Shield laws make it nearly impossible for states to prosecute out-of-state abortionists that break pro-life laws. State-level judgements can’t be enforced without the resident state’s cooperation.

That’s a major problem, because more people are requesting mail-order abortion pills than ever. Of the 95,710 abortions prescribed or performed in December nationwide, an estimated one-in-seven were prescribed to women in pro-life states by abortionists in shield law states, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of data collected by the Society of Family Planning.

DID YOU KNOW?
The chemical abortion pill is exceptionally dangerous. One in ten women experience sepsis, infection, hemorrhaging or another “serious adverse event” after taking mifepristone, according to insurance data analyzed by the Ethics and Public Policy Center.

Kendal’s second chemical abortion was even riskier because her baby was three months old. The FDA only approves chemical abortions through ten weeks of pregnancy.
The Allegations

In his case, Rodriguez claims his girlfriend, Kendal Garza, underwent two chemical abortions via pills prescribed by Coeytaux.

The first abortion allegedly occurred late last year. Shortly after Kendal and Rodriguez announced their pregnancy, Kendal’s estranged husband, Adam Garza, purchased a chemical abortion cocktail from Coeytaux through an online telemedicine appointment.

Garza and Kendal’s mother reportedly pressured Kendal into taking the illicit pills.

The second abortion occurred in 2025. Kendal carried her and Rodriguez’ baby boy for three months before she, again, allegedly consumed chemical abortion pills prescribed by Coeytaux and purchased her estranged husband.

Requested Judgement

Rodriguez requests the court hold Coeytaux legally liable for the wrongful death of his preborn children. He asks the judge to award him monetary damages and permanently bar Coeytaux from sending chemical abortion pills across state lines.

Texas law defines “wrongful death” as death caused by another person’s “wrongful act, neglect, carelessness, unskillfulness or default.” State law also classifies a preborn baby as a person.

The filing argues Coeytaux committed “wrongful acts” by defying state and federal laws regulating abortions.

Texas requires chemical abortions be:

  • Prescribed to a woman less than six weeks pregnant.
  • Prescribed by a licensed Texas physician.
  • Performed in a licensed abortion facility.
  • Performed after a mandatory ultrasound (a safety precaution to identify ectopic pregnancies, which can be fatal if left untreated.)

According to the suit, Coeytaux’s failure to meet these requirements make him guilty of felony murder — intentionally and knowingly causing a person’s death — and aiding an illegal, self-managed abortion.  

The filings reads:

Assisting a self-managed abortion in Texas is an act of murder. Although Kendal Garza 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.
The Comstock Act

Rodriguez’ suit also alleges Coeytaux’s conduct violates the Comstock Act, a federal law prohibiting the physical or digital transportation of “abortion-related items or information” across state lines.

The act, which became law in 1873, regulates the interstate trade of “obscene literature and articles of immoral use,” including materials aiding and abetting abortion. It was last amended in 1996.

Rodriguez made his case a federal one by tying Coeytaux’s wrongdoing to Comstock. Though modern courts rarely enforce it, it is still a federal law.

Why It Matters

Rodriguez’ case is the first to challenge abortion shield laws in federal court. This is vital, because state-level shield laws cannot protect abortionists from an interstate judgement.

A favorable ruling in Rodriguez would establish a new precedent for enforcing Comstock against mail-order abortionists. That precedent, in turn, would allow states to obtain enforceable federal injunctions against out-of-state abortion providers.

Rodriguez’ story also offers an important counterpoint to the narrative that mail-order abortions protect women’s freedom. The alleged relationship between Kendal, her mother and her estranged husband demonstrate the ways third parties can — and do — use unregulated abortion pills to coerce or manipulate women into chemical abortions.

The Daily Citizen will continue covering Rodriguez v. Coeytaux.

To speak with a family help specialist or request resources, please call Focus on the Family at 1-800-A-FAMILY (232-6459).

If you are experiencing an unexpected pregnancy and want to learn more about your options, visit My Choice Network.

Some women, after taking the first abortion pill (mifepristone), come to regret their decision. Thankfully, there is a way to reverse the pill’s effects if prompt action is taken. To learn more about the abortion pill reversal protocol, visit abortionpillreversal.com or call 1-877-558-0333 to be connected with a medical professional who can guide callers through the process of reversing the pill’s effects.

To learn more about pro-life legislation in your state, contact your state Family Policy Council.

To learn more about the consequences of a chemical abortion, visit the links below.

Additional Articles and Resources

Shield Laws Enable Chemical Abortion in Pro-Life States

Shield Law Abortion Providers Advertised Alongside Black Market Abortion Pills

Texas Sues New York Doctor for Prescribing Abortion Meds

New Abortion Pill Study Confirms Danger to Mothers

Woman Nearly Dies from Abortion Pill, Story Reflects Disturbing EPPC Data

Focus on the Family Broadcast: Abortion Pill Reversal

#AbortionChangesYou: A Case Study to Understand the Communicative Tensions in Women’s Medication Abortion Narratives (Health Communication)

The Abortion Pill Harms Women: Insurance Data Reveals One in Ten Patients Experiences a Serious Adverse Event (Ethics and Public Policy Center)

Pro-Life Activist Arrested for Peaceful Prayer Appeals to Supreme Court

A pro-life activist is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene take up his case after being arrested for peacefully praying outside an abortion clinic.

Matthew Connolly, a pro-life monk, was arrested along with five other individuals on April 23, 2022, in Southfield, Michigan. The group was in the common area of an office building housing Northland Family Planning Center, an abortion clinic.

Connolly never entered the facility, but was arrested for praying in the common area 500 feet down the hall. According to a July 2025 petition, officers at the scene described his actions as “peaceful,” and Connolly carried nothing but a rosary.

Despite this, Connolly was charged with 3 counts of misdemeanors, including interference with a business and a vague ordinance criminalizing “annoyance” in a public space. He was fined and sentenced to 90 days in jail after refusing a probation condition which would have prevented him from engaging in pro-life speech within 500 feet of any nationwide abortion facility.

Had Connolly accepted his probation, Advocates for Faith & Freedom claims he would have been barred from “seeking routine medical care at any hospital that provides abortions, an impossible condition for any citizen.”

Advocates for Faith and Freedom Attorney Erin Mersino, who is helping represent Connolly, stated,

This case is not just about Mr. Connolly. It is about whether the government can silence pro-life Americans and criminalize public prayer.

If prayer can be prosecuted, preaching can be banned. Silence now will only embolden government suppression of faith-based expression.

We are asking the United States Supreme Court to do what the Constitution already demands — protect the right of Americans, especially those who advocate for the sanctity of life, to speak freely, assemble peacefully, and pray publicly.

While Connolly’s arrest for peaceful prayer was unwarranted, this was not his first encounter with the law. His record includes at least eight arrests and four convictions across multiple states.

One such incident occurred in March 2023, when Connolly participated in a pro-life Red Rose Rescue event outside the Southfield abortion clinic in Michigan. Six people went limp as police attempted to transport then to police cars, and four (including Connolly) served time in Oakland County Jail. Of these four, Conolly and one other were convicted of trespassing, resisting arrest and engaging in disorderly conduct.

On a separate occasion in August 2021, also involving the Red Rose Rescue group, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Connolly for violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act at a Philadelphia Planned Parenthood location.

Connolly allegedly barricaded himself in a patient-only bathroom for over three hours, ultimately resulting in the facility’s evacuation, a SWAT team response, and the rescheduling of at least 44 appointments. Prosecutors claimed Connolly was “engaged in conduct calculated to shut down a reproductive health clinic for an entire day.”

Matthew Connolly’s consistent and courageous witness to the value of preborn life deserves praise and commendation. Let us hope the Supreme Court will take up Connolly’s case and uphold all Americans’ First Amendment right to pray peacefully in public.

Related Articles and Resources

Pro-Life Ohio Man Sues for Unfair Arrest Outside Abortion Clinic

New Poll: More Americans are Pro-Life, Think Abortion is ‘Morally Wrong’

Federal Judge Orders Trump Administration to Keep Funding Planned Parenthood

Pro-life, Free Speech Win: Federal Appeals Court Blocks Kentucky ‘Buffer Zone’ Ordinance

Police Pay Christian Woman Arrested for Praying Outside UK Abortion Clinic

Arkansas Allocates $2 Million to Pregnancy Help Organizations  

Planned Parenthood Cashes In on Medicaid Money Meant for Elderly and Disabled, Report Shows

Abortion providers like Planned Parenthood are cashing in on Medicaid money meant for elderly and disabled Americans, a new report from the American Family Association (AFA) shows.  

States receive tens of billions of dollars from the federal government every year to run Medicaid programs; state taxpayers contribute several billion more.

But according to AFA’s “Displacing the Disabled: How Medicaid funds abortion providers and leaves disabled kids waiting,” thousands of Americans and their families across forty states are languishing on waitlists for Medicaid-funded Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS).

State HCBS programs subsidize in-home care for the elderly, disabled and mentally ill. For parents like Anja and Nate Baker, they are a necessity.

The Bakers are proud parents of three boys — six-year-old Locke, four-year-old Herschel and one-year-old Fulton. Herschel suffers from cerebral palsy, epilepsy and several other conditions related to brain injury.

Baker family photo courtesy of Anja Baker

“[Herschel] requires a wheelchair and g-tube feeding and cannot independently sit, stand, use the bathroom or speak,” Anja tells the Daily Citizen. “As a result, he requires around the clock care for all his needs.”

Without Mississippi Medicaid’s Disabled Child at Home program, Anja says she and Nate would not be able to afford the fifteen different medical providers and therapists Herschel needs to thrive.

“As a family, we have reorganized our lives around Herschel’s medical care,” she explains. “Without his Medicaid coverage, we could never afford to care for him.”

With Medicaid’s help, the Bakers get to watch Herschel grow and impact the people around him.

“Herschel loves time at church, especially music and fellowship time with friends.” Anja tells us. “We know he has impacted the faith of many people and will continue to do so as long as he’s able to share his light with the world.”

“We pray that we can keep Herschel’s life as comfortable and joy-filled as possible for as long as the Lord lets us have him.”

Baker boys courtesy of Anja Baker

Families like the Bakers can’t financially, physically or emotionally afford to be waitlisted for Medicaid. But that’s what happens when Medicaid funding is spread across an increasingly broad array of services — including those offered by abortion giants like Planned Parenthood.

AFA’s “Displacing the Disabled” report compiles data on twenty states with HCBS waitlists and abortion providers that accept Medicaid. The findings highlight an unacceptable incongruency: While vulnerable Americans await critical Medicaid support, Planned Parenthood entities and other abortion providers are collecting two streams of government income — federal grants and Medicaid reimbursements.

These funds free up millions of dollars Planned Parenthood and company use not only to perform abortions, but to lobby for pro-abortion policies, indoctrinate children into gender ideology and pay their executives’ six-figure salaries.

“For [HCBS programs] to be deprived of resources while the money instead funds the abortion industry is sickening,” Anja says.

“The abortion lobby sees no value in a child like Herschel; Planned Parenthood would rather see [him] and his school and church friends never born.”

She concludes:

This funding issue highlights a stark reality — the abortion industry neither wants to see disabled children born, nor their lives extended or cared for while they are here.
This contrast [proves] they aren’t just anti-life, they are pro-death.

AFA hopes the “Displacing the Disabled” report and stories like the Baker family’s will hammer home the importance of ensuring welfare programs serve the people who need them most.

“Healthcare resources are not infinite,” Dr. Jameson Taylor, the Director of AFA’s Center for Governmental Renewal explains.  “Medicaid can’t cover everything or everyone.”

He continues:

When you look at the services Medicaid could cover in each state, I believe providing care for vulnerable individuals should be a priority while funneling money to abortion providers shouldn’t be on the list.

The Daily Citizen categorically agrees.

To read AFA’s full report, click here.

Additional Articles and Resources

Senate Unveils Budget Bill to Defund Planned Parenthood

Proposed Budget Bill Defunds Abortion Providers Like Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood Uses Taxes to Pay for Abortion, Radical Sex Ed

Planned Parenthood Receives Millions of Dollars Through Federal ‘Family Planning’ Grants

Planned Parenthood Earns $2 Billion Killing Over 400,000 Babies, Annual Report Shows

Planned Parenthood Offers ‘Sexual Health Resources’ for All, Aided by Sacramento Libraries

Surprise, Surprise — Planned Parenthood Gave Children Explicit Coloring Books

Woman Nearly Dies from Abortion Pill, Story Reflects Disturbing EPPC Data

In April 2025, the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC) released the largest-known study on the dangers of mifepristone – the first drug in a two-drug regimen called the “abortion pill.”

Their data, collected from insurance claims between 2017-2023, analyzes 865,727 cases of prescribed abortion pills in the United States – 28 times as many as were included in the FDA’s clinical trials on the drug combined.

The study explains,

10.93 percent of women experience sepsis, infection, hemorrhaging, or another serious adverse event within 45 days following a mifepristone abortion.
The real-world rate of serious adverse events following mifepristone abortions is at least 22 times as high as the summary figure of “less than 0.5 percent” in clinical trials reported on the drug label.
Mifepristone abortion, as currently practiced in the U.S., is considered more dangerous to women than is represented on the FDA-approved drug label.

The study also urges the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to “further investigate the harm mifepristone causes to women and, based on objective safety criteria, reconsider its approval altogether.”

To some, these disturbing statistics may only appear as numbers on a page. However, each digit represents a real woman who has either narrowly escaped death or tragically lost her life to the abortion pill.

Here is just one of those stories.

Shanyce

When Shanyce went to Planned Parenthood for an abortion pill in early 2025, she reported feeling “no emotion.” “You’re here. Just get it done,” she told herself.

Shanyce took the first pill, mifepristone, at the clinic. This dose of the abortion pill is designed the block progesterone – an essential hormone for a healthy pregnancy. Mifepristone also thins the uterine lining and prevents vital nutrients from getting to the baby, causing the death of the preborn child.

Planned Parenthood sent Shanyce home with instructions to take a second pill, misoprostol, 72 hours later. This second dose causes the uterus to contract, expelling the dead baby from the mother’s body.

Accompanied with misoprostol are typical symptoms of miscarriage: abdominal cramping, bleeding, and discharge of tissue or fluid.

Shortly after Shanyce noticed these symptoms, her pain became excruciating.  She recalls,

The cramp was unbearable, like, it kinda felt like someone was stabbing me in my stomach. … It was really unbearable, I’ve never cramped like that before.

At the advice of her mother, Shanyce returned to Planned Parenthood. After an examination, a doctor told her there were no fetal remains left in her body:

They kinda like just brushed it off and was like, “hey these are the symptoms, like you’re fine.” And she sent me about my way.

Shanyce showed no improvement after returning home. Her mother noticed she looked “blue, pale … really lethargic and sick.”

Eventually, Shanyce’s mother insisted she go to the emergency room. After an ultrasound, the doctors informed Shanyce that her body still contained the dead remains of her child.

Shanyce was immediately rushed into surgery. She recalls,

I started getting a fever. I was throwing up constantly. I remember the first three surgeries that I had to remove the remains of the child, all my family came. They prayed over me, and that was kind of like the last thing I remember from there.

The abortion pill had given Shanyce an infection behind her uterus, forcing her to undergo a partial hysterectomy.

She later went into septic shock and was put into an induced coma.

Shanyce nearly died.

I wake up in ICU, on a breathing tube. I was on [a] blood transfusion, I had a stent in my neck. … I wasn’t able to talk til’ the next day.

Over the next few weeks, Shanyce relearned basic functions with the help of physical and occupational therapists:

They showed me how to step in and out of the shower, how to brush my teeth. I had to learn how to walk again after. I had to learn how to write, chew, talk a little bit, how to do daily things.

Shanyce was admitted to the hospital at the beginning of January. She was not released until the end of February – a long, traumatic hospital stay caused by both Planned Parenthood’s negligence and the abortion pill.

As reported by the EPPC, countless women like Shanyce have been deceived by the FDA’s false information about the abortion pill:

Danco Laboratories boasts that more than 5 million U.S. women have used its abortion pill since it was approved in 2000.

Even referring to the abortion pill as “medication” is a lie – “medication is intended to treat or cure diseases, and pregnancy is not a disease.”

Stories like Shanyce’s and the EPPC’s data undoubtedly prove the abortion pill is not safe:

Danco Laboratories markets Mifeprex as “the safe and effective abortion pill,” but our research shows that mifepristone abortion, as currently practiced in the U.S., is not safe and effective.
Women deserve better than the abortion pill.

Not only that, but every preborn baby deserves a chance to live.

Thankfully, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary has committed to reviewing the abortion pill’s safety profile. Hopefully the FDA will act to restrict the abortion pill’s use in the coming days.

Women, and preborn babies, would be much safer as a result.

To learn more about the abortion pill reversal protocol, visit abortionpillreversal.com or call 1-877-558-0333 to be connected with a medical professional who can guide callers through the process of reversing the pill’s effects.

To connect with a local pregnancy resource center that can discuss all of your pregnancy options with you, click here.  

Additionally, if you’re struggling and need a listening ear, Focus on the Family offers a free, one-time counseling consultation with a licensed or pastoral counselor. To request a counseling consultation, call 1-855-771-HELP (4357) or fill out our Counseling Consultation Request Form.

Related Articles and Resources:

Pro-Life: Focus on the Family

My Choice Network

New Abortion Pill Study Confirms Danger to Mothers

Here’s the Secret Pro-Abortion Activists Won’t Tell You About the Abortion Pill: It’s Dangerous

Shield Laws Enable Chemical Abortions in Pro-Life States

Shield Law Abortion Providers Advertised Alongside Black Market Abortion Pills

The Abortion Pill: How Does It Work?

New Insights on the Dangers of the Abortion Pill

Pro-Life Ohio Man Sues for Unfair Arrest Outside Abortion Clinic

An Ohio man is suing the city of Cuyahoga Falls for violating his First Amendment rights after police arrested him outside a local abortion clinic last December.

Three days after Christmas, Zachary Knotts and his wife peacefully promoted pro-life values on a public sidewalk near Northeast Ohio Women’s Center.

To share his evangelical message, Knotts spoke into a battery-powered megaphone, which had previously been cleared for public use by the Cuyahoga Falls Police Department.

Abortion clinic escorts quickly swarmed Knotts, shoving umbrellas in his face and drowning his words with whistles and kazoos.

Despite the escorts’ repeated noise and harassment, police only arrested Knotts for violation of the Cuyahoga Falls Noise Ordinance.

In their report, The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) states:

Although Mr. Knotts used a megaphone to be heard, his megaphone was not substantially louder than the noise of surrounding traffic.

The audio from Mrs. Knotts’ video recording demonstrates that Mr. Knotts’ megaphone was easily drowned out by the sound of the traffic on the nearby State Road and the escorts’ whistles and kazoos used to drown out his megaphone.

ACLJ attorneys claim Knotts’ arrest clearly compromised his right to free speech, noting:

  • Police can’t prove Knotts’ volume violated local ordinance – the batteries in his megaphone died before their arrival.
  • Although a nearby resident complained about Knotts’ pro-life speech, she never mentioned the escorts’ noise.
  • The only witness questioned was an off-duty, private security officer for the abortion clinic.
  • An officer warned Knotts would be arrested again if he caused further “annoyance,” regardless of whether or not he used amplified speech.  

Though police seemed eager to shut down Knotts’ pro-life message, officers had previously refused to censor abortion escorts’ threatening speech.

During a previous encounter in the presence of a police officer, Knotts reportedly told escorts his mother-in-law had considered abortion, and that his now-wife “should be dead.” One escort responded, “We can fix that.”

Another spat on Knotts. Police told Mrs. Knotts these alarming threats were not a crime.

The ACLJ writes:

The First Amendment doesn’t guarantee freedom from annoyance or inconvenience – it guarantees freedom of speech, especially for unpopular viewpoints that challenge the status quo.

When government officials start deciding which messages deserve protection based on their own preferences, we’re all at risk.

ACLJ’s lawsuit, filed May 30 seeks the following:

  • A declaration that the charges and arrest were unconstitutional
  • Compensation for alleged violations
  • A bar banning police from arresting protesters outside the abortion clinic
  • The return of Knotts’ microphone

The government does not have authority to censor citizens based on the content of their speech. Unfortunately – and too frequently – pro-life advocates like Zachary Knotts are not always afforded their First Amendment rights.

This case is Knotts v. The City of Cuyahoga Falls

Related Articles and Resources

Focus on the Family: Pro-Life

Police Pay Christian Woman Arrested for Praying Outside UK Abortion Clinic

Pro-Life, Free Speech Win: Federal Appeals Court Blocks Kentucky ‘Buffer Zone’ Ordinance

Pregnancy Resource Centers Fight Against Mandatory Abortion Referrals in Illinois

Cruz, Smith Push Congress to Make June ‘Life Month’

Arkansas Allocates $2 Million to Pregnancy Help Organizations

Proposed Budget Bill Defunds Abortion Providers Like Planned Parenthood