CLI OB-GYN Responds to Supreme Court’s Reinstatement of Mail-Order Abortions
Washington D.C.—Today, the Supreme Court temporarily blocked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court ruling that paused the nationwide remote shipment of abortion drugs, mifepristone and misoprostol, in Louisiana v. FDA.
Dr. Ingrid Skop, board-certified OB-GYN and vice president of medical affairs at Charlotte Lozier Institute, responded:
“For too long, the predatory abortion industry has prioritized ‘access’—in the form of mail-order abortion drugs—over actual medical care. The result is the countless deaths of unborn humans as abortions continue to rise while women suffer the painful consequences.
“As an OB-GYN in Texas with more than 30 years of experience, I have cared for many women in the ER who have been harmed by mail-order abortion drugs. Many were shocked to experience serious complications because they had been falsely reassured that abortion drugs are ‘safer’ than Tylenol. These complications include hemorrhage, incomplete abortion, infection, hospitalization and even death.
“Even when dispensed in-person, abortion drugs carry significant risks. Mail-order abortion makes the situation even more dangerous, creating a Wild, Wild West in the ER. We are increasingly seeing reports of abusive partners ordering these drugs to poison and coerce pregnant women into unwanted abortions. Women are also stockpiling these drugs and consuming them before they have decided if they really want an abortion. There is often no ultrasound to confirm the gestational age of the unborn baby (increasing the risk of failures in more advanced pregnancies) or rule out a potentially deadly ectopic pregnancy. There are often no labs to determine Rh status, rule out severe anemia or diagnose sexually transmitted infections, which may lead to complications in the current or future pregnancies or infertility.
“The FDA’s pandemic-era decision to remove the in-person dispensing requirement opened the door to rampant mail-order abortion and prioritized the destruction of unborn human life, leaving many women as collateral damage.”
A growing body of peer-reviewed evidence shows abortion drugs are far more dangerous than advertised, putting women and girls at serious risk:
- Risks and complications of abortions drugs are higher than the abortion industry acknowledges.
- Studies of later drug-induced abortions show even higher rates of complication and death.
- Abortion drugs have 4x the complication rate of surgical abortion.
- As many as 1 in 5 women will suffer a complication from abortion drugs.
- As many as 1 in 10 women visit an ER for abortion-related reasons.
- Compared to surgical abortions and live births, abortion drugs were associated with significantly higher rates of severe or critical emergency room visits.
- The FDA’s own label for abortion drugs indicates that roughly 1 in 25 women who take the drugs will end up in the emergency room.
- About 40% of women reported severe pain after abortion drug use, rating it between 8-10 on the pain scale.
- Abortion drugs result in an incomplete abortion approximately 3-7% of the time, requiring additional drugs or surgery.
Charlotte Lozier Institute was launched in 2011 as the education and research arm of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. CLI is a hub for research and public policy analysis on some of the most pressing issues facing the United States and nations around the world. The Institute is named for a feminist physician known for her commitment to the sanctity of human life and equal career and educational opportunities for women.
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