California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said Wednesday that the state will not extradite a doctor charged in Louisiana with providing abortion medication to a resident of that state.

"Louisiana's request is denied," Newsom said in a statement.

"We will not allow extremist politicians from other states to reach into California and try to punish doctors based on allegations that they provided reproductive health care services. Not today. Not ever."

On Tuesday, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, a Republican, announced charges accusing a California abortion provider, Dr. Remy Coeytaux, of prescribing and mailing abortion pills to a Louisiana woman in October 2023.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican, said Tuesday that he would sign an extradition order seeking Coeytaux's return to face charges.

According to documents released by Louisiana authorities, investigators learned about the case in March 2024 and issued an arrest warrant in May.

The documents do not identify who reported the case to state investigators.

The indictment alleges a Louisiana woman obtained abortion medication through a telemedicine service, paid $150, and received the pills by mail.

Prosecutors said postal tracking information showed the medication was shipped from a business associated with Coeytaux.

Louisiana has one of the nation's strictest abortion bans, enacted after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.

California is one of several states with abortion shield laws that limit cooperation with out-of-state abortion investigations or prosecutions.

California lawmakers passed a telemedicine abortion shield law in September 2023, which took effect in January 2024.

The law explicitly bars state authorities from assisting with extradition requests or legal actions targeting abortion providers for services provided legally in California.

Newsom's office said Wednesday that the governor took executive action shortly after the Supreme Court ruling to block extradition requests related to reproductive healthcare and to protect state-held data from being used by other states.

Legal experts say conflicts between states that ban or limit abortion and those with shield laws are likely to escalate and could ultimately be resolved by the Supreme Court.

Murrill and Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., told a Senate committee Wednesday that shield laws weaken abortion limits in states like Louisiana.

"Shield laws in some states protect providers from liability and effectively nullify laws in our states," Murrill said.

"Their purpose is to make it more difficult to sue or prosecute individuals in those states where abortion drugs are prohibited."

Coeytaux, who is charged with criminal abortion by means of abortion-inducing drugs, did not respond to a request for comment.

The case mirrors a similar effort by Louisiana last year to extradite a New York-based abortion provider.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, refused that request, citing her state's abortion shield law.

Louisiana has not pursued further action in that case.