Undercover investigation reveals ‘pure medical malpractice,’ life-threatening harms of online chemical abortion drugs

The online sale of chemical abortion pills is medical malpractice that offers no professional counsel or aid for women, according to Dr. Christina Francis.

“It became glaringly clear that the abortion industry cares nothing for the health and safety of women or girls,” the CEO of the American Association of Pro-Life OBGYNs told The Lion in an interview. “They care nothing about informed consent, and really, all they care about is getting their money.”

AAPLOG, founded in 1973 after abortion was legalized nationally in Roe v. Wade, represents more than 8,000 members from various medical specialties, including emergency health care, midwifery, pregnancy care centers and radiology.

“We really have become the medical voice of the pro-life movement to show that good medicine is consistent with pro-life ethics, and we speak that message in the public square, in the courts and with state and national legislators as well,” Francis said.

Undercover investigation reveals zero guardrails

Francis conducted an undercover investigation of one of the most utilized websites that sells and distributes mifepristone, the chemical abortion drug.

In the undercover video, Francis orders pills from Aid Access, which promises to “dispense to all ages and for pregnancies up to 14 weeks” – far exceeding the 10-week limit from the Food and Drug Administration. A woman who takes mifepristone before the 10-week mark faces a 12.5% chance of needing a surgical intervention, but this risk increases to more than 33% for a woman who takes the drug at 13 weeks, Francis explained.

In the video, she answers questions that categorize her as a 13-year-old girl with diagnosed anemia and a history of previous pregnancies, including an ectopic pregnancy, which is life-threatening to a woman. She is also taking blood-thinners and has a vaginal birth control device in place that seriously increases the risk of hemorrhaging during an abortion.

“If anyone with any kind of medical knowledge whatsoever had looked at that, first of all, they should have realized that this probably wasn’t a real patient with all of those things. But second, they should have said, ‘Absolutely not. We’re not sending you these pills,’” Francis told The Lion.

Instead of prohibiting the prescription or arranging a meeting with a healthcare professional, Aid Access emailed Francis a link to pay within two minutes of her completing the questionnaire. Two days later, the pills arrived in her mailbox in Indiana – a pro-life state that prohibits chemical abortion. The return label had no name for a physician or clinic, but came from a “random address in Los Angeles, California,” Francis said.

“I would have no recourse if I had taken them and experienced a complication,” Francis said, adding that she disposed of the drugs safely and ethically.

Online purchasing of pills is not telemedicine

Francis distinguished between her experience and telemedicine – the commonly used phrase to describe the order of mifepristone. Telemedicine requires “personal interaction with a medical professional” who speaks to the patient, assesses the situation and considers medical history or other pertinent information, she said.

“There’s absolutely no health care, no medicine involved in what’s happening here,” she said. “It absolutely is a misnomer to call this telemedicine, or even telehealth.”

During her undercover investigation, Francis answered information, such as the stage of her supposed pregnancy, that prompted a warning from Aid Access. But she merely had to select “I understand” or click the back button to maneuver around the warning. She explained how these warnings fail to qualify as medically informed consent, which requires interaction with the patient, full explanation of the risks, and the opportunity to ask questions.

Young girls or women who desperately believe they need an abortion can simply bypass the warnings without any medical guardrails from Aid Access, Francis said. Additionally, nearly 50% of women incorrectly date their pregnancies, according to the American College of OBGYNs (ACOG), Francis said, adding that, without an ultrasound, the estimated gestational age is considered “sub-optimally dated.”

“This is pure medical malpractice. This is what leads to women suffering severe complications and ending up in my emergency room,” Francis said in the video.

Medical lies

Chemical abortions are four times more dangerous than surgical abortions, even under the safest circumstances: a woman less than 10-weeks pregnant with no underlying conditions or medical history of complications, Francis said. But the website told viewers, “pregnancy is a risk to your health,” and instructed them to simply say they were miscarrying if complications brought them to the emergency room.

“This is the only instance where I have seen supposed medical professionals tell a patient to lie to another medical professional,” she said in the video.

In addition to the medical risks, the online sale of mifepristone offers no screening for women who may be trapped in an abusive or trafficking situation, Francis said, noting that the website never asked for identification. Multiple cases prove men and other abusers have ordered mifepristone and forced abortions on pregnant women, she said.

“As physicians, we’re mandatory reporters, for a good reason because oftentimes we are the ones to discover abuse,” she told The Lion. “We’re the ones that provide an outlet for girls that are being abused or trafficked to be able to get out of that situation, and that has been completely removed.”

She said the companies operating in this manner should be shut down, and any medical professionals involved should have their licenses placed under review. At a minimum, the in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone should be re-established, she said.

“No matter where somebody stands on the issue of abortion, they should be opposed to this. This is not good health care for women,” she said.

Americans want protections re-instated

Seven in 10 American voters believe the Food and Drug Administration should reinstate in-person medical evaluations, both before and after taking mifepristone, according to a new poll from The 85 Fund and CRC Research. Nearly 60% of Republicans and 50% of Independents say they are less likely to favor representatives who support the continued, unregulated mail-order of abortion pills, according to a CRC press release. 

“It’s overwhelmingly clear that Americans support reinstating the in-person dispensing requirement to protect women taking mifepristone,” Francis said in a statement about the poll. “As physicians caring for women and babies every day, we see the devastating impact that the FDA’s relaxed standards are having on women’s health and safety.”

SBA Pro Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser said pro-life Republicans can no longer delay the issue and must speak boldly about these drugs.

“Sitting on the fence makes no voters happier – it is a sure-fire recipe for avoidable losses this November,” she said.