DOJ urged to investigate 'predatory' abortion pill manufacturer

Senator Josh Hawley has sent a demand letter, urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate Danco Laboratories, the original manufacturer of the "chemical abortion drug mifepristone" — including the company's "its original FDA approval [and] ongoing regulatory compliance."

Josh Hawley

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The DOJ must investigate the predatory companies that produce the chemical abortion drug mifepristone These women and the innocent unborn deserve justice

12:03 AM · Apr 15, 2026

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Key Takeaways:

• Senator Josh Hawley urged the Department of Justice in a letter to investigate abortion pill manufacturer Danco Laboratories.

• Hawley specifically asked for an investigation into Danco's original FDA approval (which remains secretive and undisclosed to this day), marketing practices, and more.

• However, in response, the DOJ appeared to give no indication that it planned to investigate.

The Details:

The letter, dated April 14, 2026, was sent from Senator Hawley to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. Hawley's press release explained that the letter called for...

... the Department of Justice to open an investigation into Danco Laboratories, the manufacturer of the dangerous chemical abortion drug....

... that the Department fulfill its mandate by investigating Danco’s original FDA approval, ongoing regulatory compliance, manufacture and distribution pipeline, potentially deceptive marketing practices, and disclosure of safety risks pertaining to the company’s sole product—the chemical abortion drug, mifepristone. 

The release notes that "Senator Hawley opened his own investigation into Danco following a press conference he hosted that featured powerful testimonies from women harmed by mifepristone" and "also introduced legislation to ban mifepristone’s FDA approval for abortion and empower victims to sue manufacturers of the chemical abortion drugs." 

'Profiting at the expense of women'

Hawley's letter accuses Danco of "prey[ing]" on women, lying to them, and "profiting at the expense of women who have taken the drug and been seriously harmed by it."

In March, Hawley opened a "hotline for women who have been harmed by chemical abortion to confidentially share their stories with his office," urging those harmed to contact his office "by calling (202) 224-6154 or emailing AbortionDrugHarms@hawley.senate.gov."

In addition to Hawley's hotline, the medical malpractice website AbortionInjury.com, overseen by attorneys Mike Seibel and Justin Hall, noted that while the drug is marketed as “safe and simple," women have suffered severe complications, including hemorrhaging and life-threatening infections, after taking these drugs which have a black box warning on the label.

Hawley's April 14th letter cited an analysis, published by the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC):

Danco is profiting at the expense of women who have taken the drug and been seriously harmed by it. The largest study of mifepristone ever conducted found that nearly 11% of women who take the drug experience a “serious adverse health event,” such as sepsis or hemorrhaging. That rate amounts to 22 times higher than what Danco admits to on its label.

Hawley added," I recently hosted an event which featured firsthand testimonies of women who were harmed by the drug. These women deserve justice for what they suffered at the hands of this shady Big Pharma company."

Live Action has also hosted events where women harmed by the abortion pill spoke out.

Abortion Pill Press Conference Shares Shocking New Data

Demanding investigation

Hawley's letter is asking that the DOJ and Acting US Attorney General "open an investigation" into Danco's...

• FDA approval

• Ongoing regulatory compliance

• Manufacture and distribution pipeline

• Potentially deceptive marketing practices and disclosure of safety risks pertaining to the drug.

Hawley reminded the DOJ that they are...

... tasked with upholding the rule of law and protecting every American—including women that companies like Danco prey on and lie to. This mandate includes ensuring Danco’s prompt, fulsome, and transparent compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and ongoing regulatory obligations.

"The American public demands answers to the chemical abortion drug that is flooding into every corner of the country—often contrary to state laws—and causing devastating harm to women and babies," the Senator wrote adding, "I await your response confirming the initiation of your investigation."

The Context:

Abortion pill prescribers are supposed to be certified and policed by name-brand abortion pill manufacturer Danco Laboratories and generic manufacturers GenBioPro (GBP) and Evita Solutions; however, as Live Action News has documented, prescribers often flout the FDA's labeling or safety regulations without being decertified.

The FDA's removal of the in-person requirement for the drug resulted in the online explosion of virtual abortion pill dispensaries, with apparently no oversight from either the FDA or the abortion drug's manufacturers.

Live Action News has documented how abortion pill manufacturers may be aiding and abetting the unlawful mailing of mifepristone into pro-life states. As a result, several lawsuits have been filed by states seeking a reversal of the erosions to the abortion pill's 2023 safety regulations by the FDA.

The FDA's erosion of the REMS in 2023 violated the Federal Comstock Act which (18 U.S.C. § 1461) prohibits the mailing of “any article, instrument, substance, drug, medicine, or thing [that] may, or can, be used or applied for producing abortion[.]”

To date, the full record on the abortion pill approval has yet to be made public, something requested recently in the State of Louisiana's lawsuit over abortion pill harms. While the judge has 'stayed' (paused) the lawsuit until the FDA finalizes their safety review of the drug, he has ordered that the FDA has 60 days to release the administrative record to the Plaintiffs in the case.

The History:

Danco was established as the abortion pill manufacturer in the 1990's by the eugenicist-founded Population Council, which brought the pill into the United States. Live Action News has documented the conflicts surrounding the money trail and investors of the drug, namely the Packard and Buffett Foundations, among others.

Hawley's letter correctly pointed out how there was "very little information" which was "publicly available about Danco Laboratories," its investors, or its board of directors.

According to Hawley:

The company first introduced mifepristone in the United States in 2000 and, in doing so, appears to have taken unusual and extreme measures to protect itself from liability.

It was incorporated in the Cayman Islands. Its board of directors and investors remain secret. And its corporate structure remains largely shielded from public view.

Early backers appear to have included George Soros and other far-left activists who favor population control.

We do know... that chemical abortion is a lucrative enterprise for Danco—so lucrative, in fact, that mifepristone is the only drug the company makes, with investors’ returns reportedly topping 450%.

The abortion pill company's secrecy surprised even media allies at the time, as Live Action pointed out in its "State of Chemical Abortion" report:

Initially, the original manufacturer of the abortion-inducing drug was obscured by secrecy...for decades, even the location of Danco's manufacturing facility remained undisclosed.

...Following the refusal of established pharmaceutical companies to market the abortion-inducing drug in the United States, a consortium established a "secret company" exclusively dedicated to its production and commerce, according to The Seattle Times.

This protracted 11-year undertaking involved what The Seattle Times called an elaborate "cloak-and-dagger scheme” to hide the identities of participants, numerous legal disputes, and $50 million in incurred costs...

...In the years that followed, the manufacturing location remained confidential until a False Claims Act settlement against Danco in the spring of 2025 mandated the company to publicly indicate the country of origin on its packaging. Danco's current packaging now lists Spain as the country of origin.

Key Dates:

• 1994: With encouragement of the Clinton administration, French pharmaceutical company Roussel-Uclaf assigned U.S. rights of marketing and distribution of the abortion pill (known then as RU-486) to the eugenics-founded Population Council who later handed it over to Danco Laboratories, a sub-licensee of the Population Council. 

• 1996: Population Council (funded in part with investments from the Buffett and Packard Foundations) submitted its application for the drug to the FDA, and a series of clinical trials began.

• 2000: The abortion pill (Mifeprex or mifepristone 200 mg) was approved by the FDA for the “termination of pregnancy” and required to be dispensed in-person.

• 2011: drug placed under FDA's REMS safety system for monitoring serious complications and deaths.

• 2016: A coalition of abortion advocates funded Danco's move leading to the Obama FDA eroding REMS by removing the requirement that all complications (except deaths) be reported. Yet, long before 2016 changes occurred, Big Abortion schemed to hide complications by advising women at the point of sale to lie about their complications, should they ever need to visit the emergency room.

• 2023: FDA removed the in-person dispensing requirement to allow for the drug to be permanently dispensed by mail or pharmacy.

• May 2025: Senator Hawley introduces bill to reinstate abortion pill safeguards and allow women to sue.

• March 2026: Senator Hawley introduces the "Safeguarding Women from Chemical Abortion Act" and opens investigation into abortion pill manufacturers. In addition, Senator Bill Cassidy leads a coalition urging FDA to "leverage its authorities to combat the illegal sale of unapproved and misbranded chemical abortion drugs into the U.S. by online entities."

• April 2026: Pro-life coalition sends letter calling on acting AG to support states' abortion pill lawsuits. Senator Josh Hawley sends demand letter to DOJ urging that they investigate "predatory" abortion pill manufacturers.

The Bottom Line:

In response to Hawley's request, a DOJ spokesperson gave no indication that it plans to investigate the drug companies, telling Fox News Digital:

President Trump’s record on protecting unborn life and defending women’s health is unmatched. The Department of Justice will continue to advance those priorities by asking courts to allow the FDA to complete its review of mifepristone safety data and by investigating any person or entity that engaged in illegal conduct putting women or unborn children at risk.

Click here to read Live Action's detailed report, "The State of Chemical Abortion."