Chemical Abortion Accountability Act

This post is reprinted with permission from Americans United for Life (AUL), Policy Counsel Emily Hoegler, Regent Law 2024:

Today, nearly two of every three abortions in the U.S. occur through the “abortion pill”—a two-drug regimen beginning with mifepristone, which starves the developing embryo by blocking access to essential nutrients, followed by misoprostol, which causes the pregnant woman’s body to expel the deceased embryo. As a result of actions by the Obama and Biden administrations, the abortion pill (also known as RU-486 or by its principal brand name, Mifeprex) is being used to circumvent state laws designed to protect women and girls from dangerous abortions. Individuals in pro-abortion states and countries overseas are making pills available through social media and other sources then shipping them through the mail. The ease and anonymity of mail-order abortions overrides commonsense regulations including in-person medical oversight, raising serious safety concerns.    The abortion pill carries heightened medical risks for women. The largest-known study of the abortion pill found that 10.9% of women who undergo chemical abortions experience severe complications—including hemorrhaging, infection, or sepsis—within 45 days. Abortions performed through the pill have a four times higher complication rate than surgical abortions, one in five women who take the abortion pill will experience significant enough bleeding to require medical attention, and as many as eight percent of women will require surgical completion of their abortion. Alarmingly, the risk of serious complications from the abortion pill is 22 times higher than the FDA warning label on the abortion pill bottle suggests, meaning that women who take the abortion pill are not properly informed of its risks.   Yet, women often have little to no recourse when they are injured by chemical abortion. Though some states allow for civil remedies following an unlawful abortion, they often fail to explicitly address harm caused by the abortion pill. It is necessary to include this provision in the law to ensure that all women who are harmed by the abortion pill have access to, at minimum, a civil remedy.   The Chemical Abortion Accountability Act closes this gap by explicitly establishing standing for a civil cause of action against any person who prescribes, dispenses, distributes, sells, or otherwise facilitates the provision of abortion-inducing drugs that cause harm to a woman. Those eligible to file a claim include the woman who underwent the chemical abortion, her close family members, the unborn child’s father (except in cases involving rape or other criminal acts), and others harmed—excluding anyone who facilitated the abortion. Available remedies under the bill include injunctive relief, monetary damages for physical or emotional harm, and legal costs and attorney's fees.   A woman can never truly be made whole from the harms of chemical abortion, but states should enact the Chemical Abortion Accountability Act to ensure women and families harmed by abortion pills have a clear legal avenue to pursue justice and restitution. For Life, Emily Hoegler, J.D. Policy Counsel Americans United for Life P.S. Take action today to protect women from the dangers of the abortion pill. Join our Stop Harming Women Campaign and make your voice heard. With just a few clicks, you can send a powerful message to Congress, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and FDA Commissioner Martin A. Makary, M.D., urging them to protect women from the abortion pill.