For decades, America’s abortion debate has been framed as a clash between the “pro-choice” and “pro-life” camps. But what if many women are not truly given a choice at all?
In today’s era of mail-order abortion, a system promoted as “empowering” for women is increasingly being weaponized against them. Abortion drug companies will ship pills to anyone holding a credit card, and under past administrations, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) removed requirements for medical visits, pregnancy confirmation, and safeguards against coercion. Abusers and traffickers are exploiting this lack of oversight—leaving women coerced, deceived, and sometimes poisoned.
Take “Janie,” a Midwestern student preparing for graduation. She was raising her young son, planning for her future, and excited to grow her family. What she didn’t know was that her partner had stolen her identification, impersonated her online, and ordered abortion pills without her knowledge. The drugs arrived at his doorstep, no questions asked. When he forced her to begin the abortion, Janie reached out in desperation to our Abortion Pill Rescue Network (APRN) hotline. Thanks to its support, she found safety and began the process of reversing the drug’s effects.
Her story is shocking—but, tragically, it is not unique.
Across the country, women are beginning to take their abusers and abortion pill providers to court. In Texas, a woman filed suit after her partner allegedly spiked her drink with abortion pills when she refused to end her pregnancy. Her lawsuit names not only him but also the online abortion provider that mailed the drugs without verifying her consent. In another Texas case, a man alleged that his ex-wife was coerced into two abortions with pills supplied illegally by a California doctor affiliated with the same abortion pill provider. And in Corpus Christi, a Marine trainee stands accused of slipping abortion pills into his girlfriend’s hot beverage, causing her to miscarry.
These are not isolated incidents. Similar stories surface through the APRN hotline. “Hailey,” who wanted to continue her pregnancy, called for help after her boyfriend forced her to take mifepristone. Her mother intervened to help her seek reversal care. And “Ashley,” at 18 weeks pregnant, faced pressure from both her boyfriend and her parents. She longed to keep her baby but was coerced into completing an abortion she never wanted.
Some women have been tricked into ingesting the pills. Some have been locked in a room until they swallow the drugs. Others simply face relentless emotional manipulation until their resistance wears down.
Meanwhile, Big Abortion—and the FDA policies that enable it—turn a blind eye. Online abortion pill provider Aid Access alone shipped nearly 120,000 abortion pill packs between July 2023 and August 2024, almost 100,000 of them to women in states where abortion is restricted or banned. Other sites, like Plan C and HeyJane, openly promote mail-order pills with no oversight. Shield laws in progressive states protect these traffickers from accountability, leaving women with little recourse.
And the physical dangers are real. Chemical abortion carries risks of severe bleeding, infection, and incomplete termination, with ER visits for complications surging more than 500 percent from 2002 to 2015 among low-income women in states that fund abortion. Yet the FDA’s reporting system severely undercounts complications, masking the true scope of the harm.
This is what “choice” has become for too many: coercion, violence, and abandonment. If bodily autonomy means anything, it must include the right not to be forced into an unwanted abortion.
Women deserve real safeguards—medical evaluations, ultrasounds to confirm gestational age and rule out ectopic pregnancies, informed consent, and assurance that their decision is truly voluntary. They deserve an FDA that prioritizes their health over politics. And they deserve compassionate alternatives, whether that’s abortion pill reversal, adoption, or pregnancy help centers that stand ready to walk with them.
Elizabeth, one APRN caller, captured the longing many women feel: “I was in crisis mode. Because I always wanted the baby. I just really needed one person to say, ‘We’ll do this together.’”
Until we face the truth—that mail-order abortions undermine a woman’s choice rather than protecting it—we will continue to sell women out.
Christa Brown, BSN, RN is the Executive Director of the Abortion Pill Rescue Network and Senior Director of Medical Impact for Heartbeat International.
The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.
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