Family Council Asks U.S. Attorney’s Office to Enforce Federal Law Against Mail-Order Abortion Drugs
On Friday, Family Council sent a letter to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Arkansas respectfully asking the office to enforce federal law as it applies to mail-order abortion drugs.
Arkansas law generally prohibits abortion except to save the life of the mother, and it is a crime for an abortionist to mail abortion drugs like RU-486 into the state.
But under President Biden, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration loosened its safety protocols to allow mail-order abortion drugs. Pro-abortion states have also enacted “shield laws” for abortionists who mail abortion drugs into states like Arkansas.
All of that has created a dangerous industry of mail-order abortion in Arkansas and across the nation.
However, the federal Comstock Act of 1873 makes it a crime to mail “every article or thing designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion.” Family Council’s letter to the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas argues that the federal Comstock Act should prevent abortionists in other states from mailing abortion drugs into Arkansas in violation of state law.
The letter says:
“Since the Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization returned abortion policy to the states, a disturbing workaround has emerged: the mass mailing of mifepristone directly to patients across state lines, including into states where the people’s elected representatives have enacted strong protections for unborn children.
“Arkansas Code Annotated §§ 5-61-304 and 5-61-404 prohibit abortion except to save the life of the pregnant woman in a medical emergency, and Arkansas Code Annotated § 20-16-1504 says it is unlawful for ‘any manufacturer, supplier, physician, or any other person to provide any abortion-inducing drug via courier, delivery, or mail service.’ The Arkansas General Assembly enacted these laws via the legislative process. However, Aid Access, Plan C, and a constellation of other organizations openly advertise the shipment of mifepristone into states where abortion is restricted or prohibited. This is not a secret operation. It is a deliberate, coordinated effort to circumvent the democratic decisions of states like Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and others that have enacted protections for the unborn. These providers are not merely skirting state law; they are willfully violating federal law.”
Family Council has also recently joined amicus briefs in federal court arguing that mail-order abortion drugs violate the Comstock Act.
Abortion drugs should not be available at all — much less through the mail.
We now know drugs like mifepristone and misoprostol are much more dangerous than the FDA originally thought.
A recent study by the experts at the Ethics and Public Policy Center found nearly 11% of women experienced serious health complications from abortion pills — including sepsis, infection, and life-threatening hemorrhage.
These drugs hurt women and end the lives of unborn children. That’s why we hope our federal officials will take the necessary steps to stop the flow of dangerous abortion drugs across state lines.
You can read the entire letter to the U.S. Attorney’s Office here.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
Concerns Over Addiction Grow as Gambling Becomes as Easy as Sending a Text
Concerns are growing nationwide about a new wave of gambling addiction from sports betting and online “prediction markets.”
Most states have legalized sports betting. Survey data shows more than half of men ages 18 – 49 have an active sportsbook account online.
Arkansans wagered a record $86.5 million in March alone this year, and “prediction markets” that operate outside the scope of state regulation have exploded in recent years.
But people are deeply concerned about the toll this type of gambling is taking on gamblers and their families.
In Ohio, Crain’s Cleveland Business writes that sports gambling is costing more than just money, saying:
“More than three years after Ohio launched legal sports betting, the returns are easy to measure. So are the costs. Billions of dollars have flowed through mobile apps, fueling tax revenue and industry growth. At the same time, calls to problem gambling hotlines have climbed, betting-related debt has increased and some lawmakers are now trying to put new limits on an industry that has already taken hold.”
Over at NBC Sports, Mike Florio recently wrote that sports leagues need to take responsibility for the “new wave of gambling addictions” foisted on fans.
“Those addictions are a direct result of the fact that it’s now as easy to make a bet as it is to send a text. The broader moral and ethical issues have taken a back seat to the rush for cash. For the leagues that have been finding ways to horn in on the treasure chest, it’s impossible to wash their hands of responsibility for the damage done by addiction.”
In Canada, a recent poll found 69% of people surveyed “believe problem gambling will increase as sports betting becomes more widely available and heavily advertised.”
Experts are also sounding the alarm over “prediction markets” that they say are not regulated under state gambling laws, but are still just as addictive as other forms of online gambling.
We have written over and over about how mobile gambling apps use addictive technology to hook people — especially young adults.
In 2024, the Arkansas Problem Gambling Council announced a 22% increase in calls for help with problem gambling — driven largely by sports betting.
By some counts, 20 year-old males account for approximately 40% of calls to gambling addiction hotlines, and upwards of 20 million men are in debt or have been in debt as a result of sports betting.
A report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that states with legal mobile sports betting have seen credit delinquency rates spike — especially among borrowers under 40.
Bankruptcy attorneys across the country say online sports betting is driving a surge in personal bankruptcies — especially among young men in their 20s and 30s — and researchers at UCLA estimate that online sportsbooks are linked to an increase of roughly 30,000 more bankruptcies per year nationwide.
Sports betting is out of control. It’s corrupting sports and ruining lives.
Sports betting isn’t harmless entertainment — it’s predatory, and it’s growing. As powerful corporations try to make gambling part of everyday life, it’s important for Arkansas to protect its citizens and families from predatory gambling.
We have identified a few examples of simple, sensible steps that Arkansas and other states could take to protect families from predatory sports betting.
Policymakers need to address this issue. Otherwise, gambling addiction will simply continue wrecking lives and hurting families.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.