International shipment of abortion drugs into the U.S. violates many of the country’s laws and regulations while placing unborn babies at risk and endangering women
Washington D.C.—A new Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI) report documents how international entities are bypassing U.S. laws and regulations to ship massive numbers of abortion drugs nationwide. The report discusses international abortion centers that mail drugs into the U.S., international online pharmacies that sell abortion drugs to U.S. customers, and community abortion drug networks that source abortion drugs internationally and distribute them around the country.
Drug-induced abortions, accounting for two-thirds of abortions in the U.S., have surged in recent years. Although only the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved abortion drugs distributed by the three U.S. sponsors may be legally sold in the U.S., the FDA’s 2021 removal of the in-person dispensing requirement coincided with a surge in the availability of abortion drugs from international sources.
Other key points:
- Unregulated international online pharmacies will ship abortion drugs to all 50 states, and most don’t require prescriptions or consultations before shipping.
- The broad availability of these drugs to all buyers, along with the lack of medical oversight, increases the risk of forced and coerced abortions.
- Community abortion drug networks often provide loose, unmarked pills and place no gestational limit on how late in pregnancy the drugs may be ordered. This raises concerns about the drug quality and increases risks of complications like incomplete abortions.
- To prevent international abortion drug shipments from entering the U.S. and harming American babies and women, federal enforcement is needed.
Tessa Cox, senior research associate at CLI and author of the report, said:
“The flood of abortion drugs into the U.S. from international sources threatens to end the lives of thousands of unborn babies and place countless women and girls at risk of complications and coercion. All abortion drugs carry risks, but these organizations have no way of confirming who is on the other end of the mailbox. Weak enforcement allows these supply chains to increase those risks, creating a dangerous and unsustainable drug problem in our country.”
To read the full report, click here.
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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