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

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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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From Chinese Infiltrators to Church Growth, Here’s a Recap of the Week’s Top Stories

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Here’s a quick recap of the week’s top stories from Family Council and our friends:

From Family Council

🚩 China Working to Infiltrate U.S., Rewrite the Bible: Different news outlets have reported recently about China’s efforts to infiltrate the United States and squelch religious liberty and free speech both in its own country and abroad. Keep Reading.

🏳️‍🌈 Tennessee Replaces “Pride Month” with Pro-Family Celebration: Policymakers in Tennessee recently adopted a pro-family resolution replacing “Pride Month” in the Volunteer State. Watch the Video.

🚨 Gambling Addiction Is a Growing Crisis — And Online Betting Is Making It Worse: 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. “Prediction markets” that operate outside the scope of state regulation have exploded in recent years as well. But this type of gambling is taking a terrible toll on everyday people and their families. Keep Reading.

🥼 New Study Finds Genetic Links Between Marijuana and Psychosis: Researchers at King’s College London recently published a study identifying the genetic pathways that connect marijuana use to psychosis. Keep Reading.

🌷 Guest Column: Dying with Dignity vs. “Death with Dignity” In a recent episode of “60 Minutes,” interviewer Scott Pelley said to his guest, “You don’t have much time. Why are you spending time doing this?” His guest, former U.S. Senator Ben Sasse, who received a fatal diagnosis of pancreatic cancer in December, replied with a laugh, “You invited me, so I assume you needed to fill some time.” Keep Reading.

🎓 EFA Data Shows Arkansas Homeschoolers Exceeded National Averages on Several Norm-Referenced Tests Last Year: Family Council recently obtained test scores from the Arkansas Department of Education via the Freedom of Information Act, and last week we reported that on average, homeschoolers scored better than private school students in the EFA program on norm-referenced tests. Keep Reading.

⛪ Church Attendance Is Up. Here’s Why That Matters. A recent report from the Hartford Institute for Religion Research found that median in-person worship attendance rose from 65 in 2020 to 70 in 2025. That may sound modest, but researchers called it significant. Keep Reading.

✉️ Family Council Joins Letter Urging Congressional Leaders Not to Fund Abortionists: Last week, Family Council joined more than 50 other pro-life leaders and organizations in a letter calling on Congress not to fund abortionists. Keep Reading.

From Our Friends

What Does the FDA Shakeup Mean for Abortion Pill Review? From Daily Citizen.

SPLC’s Tactics to Silence Put Freedom at Risk. From The Washington Stand.

Psychiatrist Tells Canadian Parliament: Okay to Euthanize People With Depression. From LifeNews.

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

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EFA Data Shows Arkansas Homeschoolers Exceeded National Averages on Several Norm-Referenced Tests Last Year

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Testing data from Arkansas’ Educational Freedom Account (EFA) program shows homeschoolers excelled on several different norm-referenced tests last year.

The Arkansas Legislature created the EFA program in 2023 to provide funding for students to pay for an education at a public or private school or through homeschooling. Students who receive EFA funds must take a nationally recognized norm-referenced test to assess their math and reading skills each year. The tests compare students to their peers nationwide who took the same test.

Family Council recently obtained test scores from the Arkansas Department of Education via the Freedom of Information Act, and last week we reported that on average, homeschoolers scored better than private school students in the EFA program on norm-referenced tests.

The EFA program does not require students to take the very same norm-referenced test, but the data we received from the Department of Education shows the three most common tests students took last year were the NWEA Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) test, the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS), and the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT) 10.

Homeschoolers’ average scores were well above the national averages on each of these tests, and homeschoolers outperformed private school students in Arkansas who took these same tests.

On average, homeschoolers scored in the 64th percentile in math on the MAP test, and the 69th percentile in reading. Private school students scored in the 57th percentile in math and 59th percentile in reading. Hundreds of homeschoolers scored in the top 10% on the MAP test.

On the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, homeschoolers average in the 67th percentile in math and 71st in reading. Private school students averaged in the 60th percentile in math and 62nd in reading. Just like the MAP test, many homeschoolers scored in the top 10% on the ITBS.

The private school SAT 10 testing data Family Council received was not as complete as the data for the ITBS and MAP test, but the homeschool numbers showed homeschoolers performed well above average on the SAT 10 test.

Interestingly, a few homeschoolers participating in the EFA program last year chose to take the SAT or ACT.

On average, homeschoolers who took the SAT scored in the 62nd percentile on math and the 75th percentile on reading. Homeschoolers who took the ACT averaged in the 53rd percentile in math and the 60th percentile on reading.

All of this underscores that both private school students and homeschool students participating in the EFA program are doing exceptionally well, but homeschoolers are excelling under the program.

Norm-referenced tests like these are designed to assess students, but also compare them against their peers nationwide. Arkansas’ homeschoolers in the EFA program are consistently outperforming other students in Arkansas and across the nation taking these same tests.

There have always been a few lawmakers in Little Rock and a few people at the Arkansas Department of Education who oppose homeschooling.

This opposition has been evident with the introduction of two laws to restrict EFA funds for homeschoolers and with proposed Department of Education rules to place new restrictions on homeschoolers in the EFA program.

A lot of homeschoolers are concerned those rules go beyond state law and will make it harder for homeschoolers to educate their children. Lawmakers could vote on those rules soon. The EFA program clearly is working well for homeschool families, and we hope our elected officials will keep it that way.

That’s why we are urging Arkansans to ask their lawmakers to make sure the new EFA rules are fair to homeschool families. If you need help contacting your state legislators, please call or email our office, and we will assist you.

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

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