According to a new report from the American Life League (ALL), a pro-life advocacy group, a new kind of “drug cartel” is illegally shipping potentially deadly abortion pills and knock-off versions into all 50 states, including to pro-life states with stringent abortion bans. Comprised of overseas vendors and “volunteers,” these networks discreetly funnel generic or off-brand pills into the hands of Americans without any oversight or interference from government agencies. Despite the federal Comstock Act that outlaws sending abortion items through the mail, the Biden-Harris administration and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have allowed the mailing of abortion pills even into states with near-total abortion bans without any repercussions. 

The in-depth report, “Beneath the Surface: Exposing the Abortion Pill Drug Cartel,” explained that 63 percent of all abortions in the nation in 2023 were committed via the Mifepristone and Misoprostol regimen, which translates to 642,700 abortions last year. However, this data relies only on official reporting from American abortionists in the formal health care system. The report noted that the 2023 abortion numbers do not take into account the abortions committed using the generic drugs acquired through the cartels and that these medication abortions may actually account for “80 or 90 percent” of all abortions. 

“To the casual observer, this pill network is modeled after the drug cartel, creating an abortion pill crisis similar to our nation’s narcotics crisis,” wrote the ALL.

The abortion pill cartel operates through “community partner networks” that use the Internet and the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to ship abortion pills from foreign countries to people in America. These networks advise women on how to “hide” their medication abortion. They give women instructions on how to use private browsers, untraceable VPNs, secure email accounts, clearing out internet history frequently to hide their online abortion pill searches and requests. Women are even advised to wear disguises to mask their appearance when visiting abortion facilities. Some of these networks will even help pregnant underage girls get abortion pills without parental consent or notification.

One of these “community partners” highlighted in the report is the Mexico-based Las Libres. The organization’s founder claims it receives anywhere from 10 to 200 abortion pill requests from the U.S. daily. The Las Libres “Frequently Asked Questions” page even encourages women who need emergency medical care after taking abortion drugs to lie to their doctors and pretend they are having a miscarriage in order to hide their abortion. 

“Do not reveal that you took abortion medications — there is absolutely no way for them to know. The pills will not show up in blood tests or scans,” states the organization. “This also applies to interactions or consultation with your doctor or gynecologist: there is no need to tell them that your miscarriage was self-induced.”

Another effort called Plan C, operated by the National Women’s Health Network, admits that online vendors will ship to all U.S. states and not require women or girls to have a prescription for abortion pills, nor do they have to upload any proof of identification or medical consultation whatsoever. 

The ALL noted that Plan C also admits these pills manufactured overseas are not inspected by the U.S. government and are not guaranteed to be “reliable.” In fact, these pills are often manufactured in India, China, Vietnam, and Russia and raises concerns that some pills may be dangerous to women and girls by coming “laced with other drugs and chemicals” or may arrive damaged due to heat. These issues compound problems with an already dangerous drug. Even the FDA-approved Mifepristone pill already comes with a “black box warning” – the agency’s strongest warning – that advises abortive mothers to expect cramping, vaginal bleeding, and that they may potentially see blood clots and tissue. According to the FDA’s own data, there have been 26 deaths as a result of Mifepristone since its 2000 approval.

“This means that without identification and a prescription, anyone can order these pills from an online vendor to use themselves or [secretly] on women who are pregnant,” stated the ALL report.

The ALL also noted that the FDA’s decision to deregulate abortion pills so they can be dispensed by mail greatly expands the abortion drug trade even into states where abortion is heavily restricted. Currently, 14 states have near-total abortion bans that prohibit the act of abortion, including the taking of an abortion drug with a reasonable knowledge that drug would induce the killing of an unborn child. However, these laws do not prohibit women from obtaining these drugs. In addition, seven states (California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Vermont and Washington) have enacted shield laws which protect abortionists from any legal consequences for sending abortion pills to states where the practice is banned. The ALL stated that the lack of action by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, Department of Homeland Security, the USPS, all combined with the FDA’s 2023 decision to allow the mailing of abortion pills, “has opened the floodgates for clinicians to prescribe abortion pills everywhere.” 

The ALL concluded, “This report is proof that the claim of the abortion-free state, or pro-life state, is a myth. As long as the abortion pill regimen is trafficked across our nation’s borders into heavily restricted states, abortion numbers will continue to rise. And as there is no required reporting, we will continue to be left in the dark regarding how many women’s and children’s lives are claimed by the abortion pill crisis.”

Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “States must protect their residents from the unlawful trafficking of the abortion pills. The abortion industry will put lives in jeopardy anywhere it can for a profit. Trafficking abortion pills across state lines must be end.”