A new report claims that mail-order abortion pills violate a federal law from 1873. The Restoration of America Foundation released the findings. They want the Trump administration to take action. The group points to the Comstock Act. This old law criminalizes sending certain materials through the mail. The report argues the law should stop abortion pills today.
Blue states have passed shield laws. These laws protect providers from prosecution by red states. The report says these shields allow shipping without exams. Providers send mifepristone to women in restrictive states. There is no verification of who takes the pills. There is no check if they take them willingly. This bypasses local laws completely.
The numbers are striking according to the report. Nearly 15,000 medication abortions happen each month. This count relies on blue state shield laws. By the end of 2024, about 15 percent of all U.S. abortions were mailed. These drugs went to women in states with restrictions. The group estimates over 300,000 abortions in 2025 alone. These were directly caused by mail-order drugs.
The FDA changed its rules during the pandemic. It suspended the requirement for in-person dispensing. That change became permanent. Now telehealth prescriptions are common. Pills are mailed directly to patients. This shift fueled the growth in remote abortions. The report links this to rising health risks.
An insurance claims analysis found serious health events. These occurred in 10.9 percent of drug-induced abortions. The data covers 2017 through 2023. This rate is much higher than the FDA label. The label reports a much lower risk. The adverse event rate reached 11.2 percent in 2023. The drugs were used more broadly that year.
The report targets Attorney General Todd Blanche. It urges him to enforce the Comstock Act. The Biden administration issued an opinion in December 2022. It said the Comstock Act does not prohibit mailing these drugs. This applied if the sender lacked unlawful intent. The new report calls for reversing that opinion.
Doug Truax is the CEO of the foundation. He told Fox News Digital that the law is clear. He said it is illegal to put these drugs in the mail. He wants the Justice Department to investigate providers. He believes enforcing the law would save lives. The timing coincides with Planned Parenthood’s 110th anniversary. The group sees this as a moment for action. They want to halt the flow of pills across state lines. The Comstock Act remains valid federal law. It has not been repealed by Congress. The question is whether the executive branch will enforce it.