A startling new study has revealed that the vast majority of online abortion drug vendors are shipping the pills to women whose unborn children are past the point of 10 weeks’ gestation, in violation of the FDA’s federal safety limit.
The report, released by the Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI) on Tuesday, found that 81% of online abortion drug sellers are actively ignoring the federal safety guidelines, amounting to 64 vendors. The study further found that eight online-only organizations are violating state pro-life laws by shipping abortion pills into those states. Moreover, 10 out of 28 websites that received warning letters from the FDA over their abuse of federal law in 2019 are still active, according to the research. In addition, 18 websites require no ID to be presented before ordering the pills.
The new study comes as the health dangers of the abortion drug mifepristone come under increasing scrutiny in the wake of the Trump administration’s ongoing failure to reinstate safety regulations that the Biden administration rescinded in 2021 and 2023, which removed the in-person dispensing requirement and allowed retail pharmacies to dispense the drug. Pro-life and women’s health advocates have decried the moves, pointing out that an in-person appointment with a health care professional is the only way to ensure that the woman seeking the abortion drug is not being coerced, does not have an ectopic pregnancy, and is not past the gestational limit of 10 weeks, all of which pose grave health risks to the mother if she ingests the abortion pill, including death.
But even when the abortion drug is taken under manufacturer-recommended conditions, studies show that over one in 10 women “experience sepsis, infection, hemorrhaging, or another serious or life-threatening adverse event.” Despite these dangers, and despite the fact that online abortion pill shipments are violating the laws of pro-life states as well as federal laws like the Comstock Act, the Trump administration has so far not acted to address the growing crisis. A recent shakeup of leadership at the FDA could signal that changes around the abortion drug may be forthcoming, however.
Mia Steupert, a research associate at CLI who authored the report, called the state of affairs surrounding the abortion pill the “Wild West,” emphasizing that the study should serve as a “wake-up call to policymakers.”
“The abortion industry loves to claim ‘abortion is healthcare,’ but their actions and advocacy have shown they don’t want abortion to be treated with the same level of regulatory scrutiny as legitimate medical procedures,” she remarked in a statement. “No one should be able to obtain abortion drugs as easily as purchasing something off Amazon.”
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins concurred. “It is time for the safety of women and babies, not to mention the rule of law, to take precedence over ideology,” he wrote on X Wednesday in response to the CLI report. “What will it take for the Trump administration to take action? Are they waiting for 100% of online abortion pill companies to violate the FDA limits? Are 17 international companies sending unapproved or mislabeled drugs to U.S. customers not enough? Stop the harm. Enforce the Comstock Act and strengthen the safety regulations on mifepristone.”
Mary Szoch, who serves as director of FRC’s Center for Human Dignity, underscored that the abortion drug suppliers’ lack of regard for following safety guidelines fits squarely within the abortion industry’s ideology.
“The abortion industry does not care about women. It never has,” she told The Washington Stand. “CLI’s study showing that 81% of online abortion drug sellers do not comply with FDA standards intended to mitigate the risk to women or that 18 foreign-based companies do not require identification before ordering these drugs shouldn’t shock anyone. Online abortionists operate a business that sells drugs to kill people. They are, as the late Pope Francis often said, hitmen contracted to kill an innocent unborn child. We shouldn’t be surprised that they are not concerned about causing harm to others.”
“What should surprise us, though, is that Americans have stood idly by and allowed this to happen,” Szoch added. “Our country is one that was founded upon the belief that all men are created equal. The Trump administration has done excellent work promoting respect for the dignity of life in so many different areas — including defending the unborn and enforcing the rule of law. I pray that the Trump administration will take another step in defending the dignity of human life and enforcing the rule of law by enforcing the longstanding Comstock Act that prevents mailing drugs intended to cause an abortion.”
