Penna Dexter

Post-Roe v. Wade, abortion numbers have increased. Although some states prohibit it outright, chemical abortions take place in every state.

Well before the justices handed down their 2022 Dobbs ruling freeing us from Roe’s  federal “right” to abortion, the Food and Drug Administration made abortion easier to obtain, and more dangerous.

Abortion drugs first became legal in the U.S. in 2000. That’s the year the FDA approved the 2-drug regimen to be used during the first seven weeks of pregnancy. In 2016, the agency approved an extension, allowing chemical abortion up to 10 weeks’ gestation.

The first drug in the 2-step regimen, mifepristone, blocks the hormone progesterone, causing the baby’s death. Mifepristone can have serious side effects, including hemorrhaging, immune system inhibition, and septic shock.

The FDA originally required that the drug be dispensed only in certain healthcare settings, such as a clinic or hospital. Not seeing a medical professional rules out a timely diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy, or of an incomplete abortion, both of which can be life-threatening.

But the FDA has removed the requirement that a woman be examined in person when receiving a prescription for chemical abortion drugs. Women are now getting abortion pills by mail and taking them alone, or under coercion.

 Samantha Flom, senior investigative researcher for Restoration News, writes of an “abortion crime wave.” Certain online providers, she says, “will ship abortion pills to any state  — even those with near-total abortion bans.”

Ms. Flom points to the chief offender: Aid Access, which “only requires that users fill out an online form to receive its pills.” Users sign to certify the pills “are for their personal use.” But “no effort is made to verify the recipient is even female, much less pregnant.”

Lawsuits involving coercive drug-induced abortions — even one for capital murder —  have been filed in Texas, Louisiana, and other states that ban abortion. If the FDA cannot ban mifepristone, it should at least restore in-person restrictions.