Sen. Hawley sends criminal referral over 'dark money' abortion pill group

Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has sent a criminal referral to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche about Plan C, an online abortion pill hub which Hawley called a "dark money operation" that serves to break state laws on abortion.

Key Takeaways:

• Sen. Hawley has asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to open an investigation into Plan C.

• He called Plan C a "dark money operation" which serves as a logistics hub for distributing abortion pills into states where they are illegal.

• Past investigations have found that Plan C uses openly deceptive tactics.

The Details:

Senator Josh Hawley announced his criminal referral into Plan C Monday on X, in which he called for the DOJ to investigate the abortion group, saying his office had received new information about its activities.

"At the center of the effort is an entity called Plan C, a left-wing dark money operation that styles itself a 'public health information campaign' but functions, in practice, as the referral and logistics hub for shipping abortion drugs into states whose laws prohibit it," he wrote.

Hawley pointed out that in states which expressly forbid abortion pills by mail — Florida, Texas, and Oklahoma — Plan C directs buyers to purchase the pills from foreign abortion facilities, and potentially puts women at risk by directing them to buy pills from unverified third-party vendors:

Plan C likewise directs residents of those states to e-commerce websites that sell and ship dangerous pills with no prescription, no identification, and no medical consultation of any kind.

By Plan C's own description, these websites "sell generic abortion pills that are not regulated or inspected by the US government," and "Plan C tests these websites by buying pills from them."

He also noted that Plan C instructs buyers on how best to break the law by concealing their digital footprint, and promotes abortion organizations which will dispense pills as late as 14 weeks into pregnancy, a month later than the current Food and Drug Administration (FDA) limit of 10 weeks gestation.

Hawley wrote:

"This conduct squarely violates federal criminal law. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act prohibits introducing unapproved and misbranded drugs into interstate commerce and dispensing prescription drugs without a valid prescription.

Criminal anti-smuggling statutes likewise covering the importation of these unregulated foreign pills. And an organization implicates federal conspiracy statutes and aiding-and-abetting provisions when it openly announces its intent to deliver drugs into states whose laws forbid it, coordinating the supplies, vendors, and carriers needed to accomplish that end."

Zoom In:

Some pro-life groups have likened Plan C to a drug cartel, as it, along with other drug syndicates, are operating across the country with no concern for state or federal laws.

And as Live Action News previously reported, illegal abortion pill ‘shadow networks’ have used homes for sale to use as fake addresses when ordering abortion drugs by mail, and have recruited “helpers” to “shepherd” their illegal abortion pill drug cartel networks. The Las Libres syndicate, located in Mexico, is also alleged to be behind efforts to smuggle abortion drugs into the United States.

As Live Action News previously reported, Plan C is open about its deceptive practices, including the use of mail forwarding:

“They use a mail forwarding service, like iPostal1.com or Anytime Mailbox to rent an ‘address’ in a state that has legal online abortion services (AK, CA, GA, ID, IL, MD, MN, NJ, NM, NV, NY, VA, VT, WA and DC currently have online abortion services that mail pills),” Plan C wrote.

Note how the organization placed quotes around the word “address,” acknowledging this is deceptive.

“The cost for this ‘address’ is about $8-10 for one month plus a $25 online notary fee to get set up (rental is only needed for one delivery, so can be cancelled after one month). There is a Post Office form that needs to be filled out that requires two forms of ID (so a bit of hassle),” Plan C also wrote.

The group said it partners with abortion groups like Hey Jane or Carafem, and lists the forwarding address as the shipping address. Plan C also suggested picking up abortion pill shipments from neighboring pro-abortion states and bringing them back into pro-life states.

Another option recommended by Plan C is to use the "general delivery" service at the United States Post Office:

“First, they identify a nearby state that offers pills by mail… Then, they look at a map to find the closest border town in the other state,” Plan C advises. “They contact a provider in the state that allows abortion pills by mail and schedule a consultation. If asked, they say they are located in the same state as the provider at the time of the consultation.”

“They provide the ‘General Delivery’ address to the clinic. They track the delivery using information provided by the clinic and go to the Post Office in person when the package has arrived,” Plan C states.

The Bottom Line:

The pro-life movement has warned for years of Plan C's deceptive and illegal activities. It remains to be seen whether any government agency will hold this group (or others like it) accountable.