Public education and advocacy can translate into policy change – both on the legislative and professional regulatory levels. AAPLOG and AAPLOG Action use these tools to help shape a better, life-affirming tomorrow. Recently, AAPLOG’s undercover investigation was a key component of a new report by Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) on the harmful effects of the easy availability of mifepristone.
The August study, put together by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions (HELP, which is currently chaired by Cassidy), is entitled “Mifepristone Without Guardrails: An Investigation Into How Chemical Abortion Drug Makers Are Putting Mothers and Babies At Risk.” It details the horrors of drug-induced abortions and how recklessly easy it is to obtain mifepristone online.
A key case study for the report, which is first examined at length and then mentioned throughout, comes from AAPLOG’s own CEO. In March, Dr. Christina Francis conducted an undercover investigation,exposing the absolute lack of medical supervision or oversight, ID verification or informed consent in the dark world of online abortion drug distribution.
Dr. Francis reveals how women’s health is put at risk when those with and without high-risk medical conditions are given these drugs without the supervision of a medical professional – and drug-induced abortion carries much higher risks for women than surgical induced abortion. Additionally, due to the availability of abortion drugs by mail, abusive partners have easy access to these abortion drugs to force or coerce their victims into taking them. To learn more about AAPLOG’s work in exposing the dangers of mail order abortions, read AAPLOG’s amicus brief in The State of Louisiana v. FDA and keep an eye on our social media Sept. 9, when oral arguments occur at the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in this landmark case.
AAPLOG’s work has had a significant impact on public policy, helping policymakers like Sen. Cassidy expose the dangers of abortion drugs and push for the reinstatement of critical safety regulations. Through the advocacy efforts of AAPLOG and AAPLOG Action, findings from this investigation were shared with Sen. Cassidy’s office and helped inform the senator’s investigation into the mail order abortion process. We join with the Senate HELP Committee in calling for the immediate reinstatement of the in-person dispensing requirement as well as reinstating and strengthening the original safeguards while seriously looking at removing this high-risk drug from the market.
