Leaders at America’s Food and Drug Administration are allegedly working on a long-overdue evaluation of whether the chemical abortion drug mifepristone is safe for women. Unfortunately, based on their track record regarding mail-order mifepristone, American women are going to have a long wait.
For years now, American leaders have been reluctant to reinstate common-sense safeguards on mifepristone – safeguards that were in place prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, when then President Biden revoked the in-person doctor's visit requirement for acquiring the drugs. This was part of the Biden administration’s abortion agenda, which sacrificed women's health and safety to protect abortion at all costs. Activists claimed it would protect abortion access at a time when many Americans feared to leave their homes – even for a doctor's visit.
Instead, this policy left women vulnerable to abusers and abortion coercion. Years later, despite a mountain of evidence and an American public that overwhelmingly supports reinstating basic safeguards on mifepristone, American leaders still refuse to act.
As a result, women across America are suffering from horrifying instances of mifepristone-related abuse and coercion. Just recently, a Louisiana teenager’s father gave her mifepristone without her knowledge or consent, nearly ending the life of her 23-week baby. The baby survived but weighs slightly over a pound and “remains hospitalised while receiving intensive medical care”.
This young woman numbers among dozens of women who have suffered from mail-order abortion drugs.
Another Louisiana woman, Rosalie, was forced to take mifepristone by her boyfriend, who had illegally used her information to purchase the drugs online. The lack of proper screening – or even basic safeguards such as photo identification – left Rosalie trapped and alone while her boyfriend aggressively threatened her to end her baby's life.
The state of Louisiana is currently suing the FDA on behalf of Rosalie and the state’s interests. The lawsuit notes that not only did mail-order mifepristone harm Rosalie, but it also undermines Louisiana’s pro-life laws by enabling anyone in the state to purchase mifepristone at the click of a button.
This is textbook medical malpractice. It’s shocking that medical professionals would allow any serious drug to be purchased online without confirming who is buying it or screening for potential abuse, sex trafficking or life-threatening complications.
This lack of oversight is especially scandalous when it concerns mifepristone, which is far more dangerous than the FDA reports.
Recent studies have found that mifepristone’s “serious adverse event” rate is 22 times higher than the FDA claims. At least one in 10 women who take mifepristone will suffer dangerous side effects, such as sepsis or infection. Many women even require a D&C abortion to complete chemical abortions, since the drugs have a 40 per cent failure rate in the second trimester.
Hopefully, the Trump administration’s FDA’s long-awaited study will provide more clarity on this front. In the meantime, however, few policymakers recognise that it is blatant medical malpractice to allow mifepristone to be ordered through the mail. They seem to be terrified of touching the issue – and, in the absence of their courage, women across America are suffering.
Women are ordering mifepristone without seeing a doctor in person to confirm that they do not have life-threatening complications, such as an ectopic pregnancy. Many, like the Louisiana teenager, are suffering a worse fate – being force-fed mifepristone by abusive partners or other individuals.
Republicans in Congress and the White House have the opportunity and moral imperative to act. Yet far too many continue touting their support for “women” while ignoring the very real crisis of abortion drug-related coercion.
