If the FDA fails to act, more women will be coerced into abortions

As The State of Louisiana v. FDA lawsuit is being considered, the FDA should take action now to make it more difficult for women to be coerced or forced into unwanted abortions.

Key Takeaways:

• The abortion pill (mifepristone 200mg) was approved by the FDA in 2000, with numerous safety protocols (REMS) in place which were gradually weakened across several presidential administrations.

• Mail-order abortions are a result of the weakening of those safety protocols, and Louisiana's lawsuit seeks the reversal of this allowance.

• Numerous women have been coerced into unwanted abortion due to the ability to order abortion pills through the mail.

The Backstory:

When the abortion pill was originally approved by the FDA, there were stringent requirements in place. These included a requirement that the pills had to be taken in-person and in front of a physician; it also was only permitted through seven weeks gestation.

The Obama administration later weakened the safety protocols to allow the pills to be taken through 10 weeks and removed the in-person requirement. The reporting requirement for non-fatal adverse events was also eliminated, so the only complications associated with the abortion pill required to be reported to the manufacturer were deaths.

The REMS were weakened again under the Biden-Harris administration which allowed abortion pills to be sent through the mail, permanently eliminated the requirement for the pills to be dispensed in person, and allowed retail pharmacies to dispense abortion pills.

The state of Louisiana has sued the FDA over the weakened REMS, arguing that allowing mail-order abortions directly targets pro-life states, thwarting state sovereignty and doing economic harm.

Yet it isn't just a political issue; countless women are also harmed through this alarming lack of safety regulations.

Why It Matters:

As an amicus brief pointed out, the current status of the abortion pill enables abusers to harm women more easily. Without in-person requirements, it has become all-too-easy for men who don't want to be fathers to order abortion drugs online and force women into abortions they do not want, without their knowledge or consent. And there are many real-world examples of this.

Justin Banta

Justin Banta, 38, who worked for the Department of Justice, allegedly ordered abortion pills online and slipped them into his girlfriend's drink; she was six weeks pregnant and wanted to keep the baby. His girlfriend lost the baby because of the drugs, and she told police he had offered to pay for her abortion. Police say Banta ordered the pills from Plan C.

He is now facing capital murder charges for the death of their preborn child.

Texas man accused of sneaking abortion pills in girlfriend's drink

Jon Demeter

Jon Demeter, 25, has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon causing injury after he allegedly forced his girlfriend to take an unspecified abortion drug. At the hospital, she told authorities Demeter had been pressuring her to have an abortion, which she had been refusing.

He allegedly ordered the abortion pills himself and gave them to her without her knowing, and their baby was stillborn.

Texas man accused of secretly giving abortion medication to mother of his unborn child

Hassan Abbas

Hassan Abbas allegedly established a relationship with the victim while he was a surgical resident (and was married to someone else). At some point, a doctor/patient relationship was established between Abbas and the victim. When she became pregnant, she said Abbas was enraged, and when she saw him next, he kept offering her drinks, which she refused.

When she later fell asleep, she woke up to his fingers in her mouth, along with a powdery substance. She was eventually able to escape and drive to the hospital, but her baby did not survive.

Woman says UTMC resident secretly gave her abortion pills

Emerson Evans

Emerson Evans, 31, was charged with two counts of intentional homicide of an unborn child after he allegedly gave his girlfriend the abortion pill without her knowledge. When emergency personnel were called to the home, they found the woman crying in the bathroom, surrounded by blood, with her baby's body in the toilet.

Evans eventually admitted to police he decided to "make the decision for her" and gave her the drug.

McLean County man charged in abortion pill homicide case

Jagmeet Sendhu

Jagmeet Sendu was arrested and charged with murder after a relative of his victim called police. The victim had allegedly been held at gunpoint and forced to take around 11 (unspecified) pills to induce an abortion; she lost the baby.

She later confirmed her relative's story to police at the hospital.

Man forces woman to take pills to induce miscarriage

Rosalie Markezich's boyfriend

When Rosalie Markezich found out she was unexpectedly pregnant, she was happy. After a week, however, her boyfriend began pressuring her to have an abortion, which she repeatedly refused.

Pretending to be her, he ordered abortion pills online and, once they arrived, screamed at her in the car until she took them. Terrified for her life, she did, and then later tried to vomit up the pills.

Unfortunately, she was unsuccessful, and lost the baby.

"I felt pressured to take the pills" | Rosalie's Story

The Bottom Line:

These are just a handful of examples; there are tragically many, many more. It is long past time for the FDA to take action and protect both women and their preborn babies.