Secular Pro-Life Urges FDA to Crack Down on Illegal Online Abortion Drug Vendors

Earlier this week, Secular Pro-Life joined a broad coalition of pro-life organizations, led by the Susan B. Anthony List, to call for a crackdown on illegal businesses that are selling abortion drugs over the internet.

In a letter to FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn (pictured), the pro-life coalition notes that the FDA sent warnings to several offending websites over a year ago — and yet they remain operational. These online abortion schemes threaten women’s health and brazenly violate FDA safety protocols:

Mifeprex (or its recently-approved generic), used in combination with misoprostol, is the only FDA-approved regimen for drug-induced abortion. Mifeprex is subject to a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS), which, as stated in the warning letters, “is intended to mitigate the risk of serious complications associated with Mifeprex.” Further, “[c]onsistent with the REMS, Mifeprex is not sold through retail pharmacies or over the internet.” 

In fact, the Mifeprex REMS requires that the drug be dispensed only at a healthcare facility, by or under the supervision of a certified prescriber, after a patient signs an agreement form. These requirements also protect women and unborn children from predators who would force or trick pregnant women into taking Mifeprex. Tragically, internet access to abortion-inducing drugs has enabled these crimes. However, AidAccess and websites within Rablon’s network continue to flagrantly subvert the REMS by marketing mifepristone to U.S. customers. 

While we appreciate the FDA’s earlier warning letters, they have proven insufficient. Abortion vendors have a hero complex and believe themselves to be above the law. The only solution now is force: the FDA should immediately exercise its authority to seize the offenders’ domain names and shut down this lethal marketplace.