Family Council Joins Brief Asking Federal Court to Block Mail-Order Abortion Drugs

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Earlier this month, Family Council joined a coalition of 57 pro-life organizations in an amicus brief asking a federal court to block mail-order abortion drugs in America.

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 abortion-by-mail in Arkansas and across the nation.

The State of Louisiana has filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s mail-order abortion rules, and that legal challenge is currently before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. On June 18, Family Council joined an amicus brief arguing the court should block abortion drugs from being delivered by mail.

The amicus brief argues that states have the authority to restrict or prohibit abortion, and that the FDA’s abortion drug rules run afoul of state and federal laws.

New evidence shows that abortion drugs are much more harmful than the FDA previously thought.

A recent study by the experts at the Ethics and Public Policy Center found abortion drugs are at least 22 times more dangerous than the drugs’ labeling indicates. Nearly 11% of women experience serious health complications from abortion pills — including sepsis, infection, and life-threatening hemorrhage.

Abortion drugs hurt women and kill unborn children. These drugs should not be available at all — much less through the mail. We believe our federal courts ultimately will recognize that fact and make it possible for states like Arkansas to enforce their laws against mail-order abortion.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Family Council Launches Grassroots Effort Urging Trump Administration to End Mail-Order Abortion Drugs

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, June 11, 2026

Little Rock, Ark. — On Thursday, Family Council launched a grassroots effort calling on the Trump administration and members of Congress to end former President Joe Biden’s dangerous mail-order abortion policies and restore the in-person doctor’s visit requirement that must be met before a woman can obtain chemical abortion drugs.

In a statement, Family Council President Jerry Cox said, “This is a women’s health issue. Abortionists in other states are shipping abortion pills into communities in Arkansas in violation of state law and with no medical oversight. We are urging Arkansans to contact the Trump administration and their members of Congress this week, and ask that federal officials reinstate the medical safeguards that the Biden administration removed. Arkansans can learn more at abortioncrimebymail.com.”

Cox said two-thirds of Americans believe abortion pills need to be restricted, saying, “A recent Federalist poll found that 67 percent of likely voters support reinstating the in-person doctor’s visit requirement for abortion pills — including 63 percent of Democrats and 72 percent of Republicans. This is plain common sense, and Americans across the political spectrum agree.”

Cox said recent criminal cases show what happens when abortion pills can be ordered online and shipped to any mailbox with no medical gatekeeper. “We’ve seen cases in Ohio, Texas, and Louisiana where abortion drugs were ordered online and then either given to women secretly without their knowledge or consent or where women were coerced into taking the abortion drugs. Last year, the Arkansas Legislature passed Act 485 clarifying that it is a crime to secretly give a pregnant woman abortion-inducing drugs without her knowledge or consent. The federal government’s current policy of allowing abortion drugs by mail puts women at risk, and it undermines good state laws like Arkansas Act 485 that are designed to protect women. This needs to change. That’s why we are calling on our federal leaders to reverse the Biden administration’s abortion drug policies, and we are working with our friends across the state to help them contact their congressional leaders as well. Arkansans can learn more at abortioncrimebymail.com.”

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Family Council Asks U.S. Attorney’s Office to Enforce Federal Law Against Mail-Order Abortion Drugs

Abortion, , , ,

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.

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