Kentucky AG to investigate abortion pill ads running at gas stations

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman announced Friday that his office is investigating abortion pill ads placed at gas stations within the state, primarily those funded by the abortion advocacy group Mayday Health.

Key Takeaways:

• Kentucky AG Coleman has subpoenaed six gas stations in the state running ads from the abortion advocacy group Mayday Health.

• Coleman said the ads, which promote the abortion pill, violate state law.

• Mayday contends that the ads are protected under the right to free speech.

• South Dakota recently sued Mayday Health for a similar complaint; Mayday countersued and a New York judge told SD it could not take action against Mayday.

The Details:

According to Reuters, AG Coleman subpoenaed six gas stations in Christian, Logan, and Simpson counties, which are accused of running the ads. The ads state, "Pregnant? Don't want to be? Learn more at Mayday Health."

Mayday's website offers information about mail-order abortion pill delivery, even in states where the abortion pill is prohibited and/or preborn children are protected from abortion by law.

Kentucky law protects the majority of preborn children from abortion. In a press release, Coleman cited the 2022 law HB 3, which prohibits the mailing or delivery of abortion-inducing drugs in the state. He also referenced the state's Consumer Protection Act, which "prohibits deceptive or misleading communications with Kentuckians."

READ: Abortion pill risks 'undercounted,' court document claims

“Out of state activist groups who are targeting the vulnerable here should be on notice: Keep your illegal pills out of our commonwealth or face the full weight of the Attorney General’s Office,” said Coleman. “These deadly and unlawful pills cannot be allowed to continue flooding into Kentucky through the mail, and we will thoroughly pursue every lead to hold bad actors accountable.”

Mayday's executive director, Liv Raisner, defended the ads as protected free speech.

“It turns out Attorney General Russell Coleman doesn’t like free speech as much as he says. This just happened when we put up signs at gas stations in South Dakota,” Raisner wrote in a statement. “We think everyone in Kentucky, and South Dakota, and around the country, should know that abortion pills are safe and available.”

Zoom Out:

As Raisner noted, Kentucky is not the first state to take action against Mayday's gas station ads.

In December, South Dakota AG Marty Jackley filed a lawsuit against Mayday after it failed to comply with his order to stop abortion pill advertising in the state. Mayday responded by filing a countersuit, and last week, a New York U.S. District judge ruled against South Dakota in the countersuit, temporarily blocking the state from removing the ads.

Why It Matters:

Mayday Health claims the abortion pill is safe — yet a report from the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC), states that nearly 11% of women (10.93%) of women who take the abortion pill experience sepsis, infection, hemorrhaging, or other serious or life-threatening adverse events. This correlates with other studies revealing the dangers of the abortion pill that show it is four times more dangerous than a first-trimester surgical abortion, and that 12% of women experience serious adverse events like bleeding and infection when taking it, and 16% experienced incomplete abortions. Mayday Health's website does not offer women this information.

Mayday's website fails to inform women of the many risks involved with taking the abortion pill, which include severe cramping, contractions, and heavy bleeding, as well as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, headaches, incomplete abortion, and infection. The FDA reports that some women's deaths have also been associated with taking the abortion pill.*

What's Next:

According to Coleman's press release, the gas stations have 20 days to respond to his subpoena, or they face potential legal action.