Ohio Group Demands Action on Mail-Order Abortion Pills: ‘This Is About Law and Order’
As scrutiny surrounds the abortion pill, the Center for Christian Virtue is calling on U.S. attorneys in Ohio to use federal law to take action against mail-order distribution.
Aaron Baer, president of the organization, cited the Comstock Act in his letters to Dominick Gerace, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and David Toepfer, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
The 1873 federal law bans the mailing or shipping of “obscene” materials, including abortion-related items. “The statute is unambiguous; it does not contain an exception for FDA-approved drugs, for physician supervision, or for states that have chosen to permit abortion. It says what it says,” Baer’s letters read.
Enforcing the law is “the performance of your sworn duty,” Baer wrote.
The letters also took issue with the lack of enforcement, with Baer noting prosecutorial discretion to not enforce provisions is “a policy choice,” rather than the statute being unenforceable or unconstitutional. “Courts have not struck down the Comstock provisions,” Baer wrote.
The letters ask the U.S. attorneys to open investigative inquiries into mail-order abortion providers in or from their district, coordinate with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and other federal agencies, pursue prosecution, and “make clear to providers that the era of consequence-free Comstock violations has ended.”
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CCV Senior Fellow for Strategic Initiatives Peter Range told the Daily Signal that “none of that is being done right now.”
“This is about law and order,” Range said, speaking about the group’s dedication to the issue.”
“But that principle of law and order should apply to the criminal enterprise of shipping these dangerous abortion drugs across state lines in our own country,” Range added. These words echo concerns from Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in a Louisiana abortion case.
Range confirmed that enforcing the Comstock Act “would not conflict with” the pro-abortion ballot initiative that Ohio passed in 2023, as his group’s demand involves “enforcing federal law.”
The use of the abortion pill now accounts for 63% of abortions performed, as a growing share is shipped across state lines.
Abortion-pill mail orders have impacted Ohio directly. Dr. Hassan-James Abbas, a Toledo physician, will be sentenced next week for forcing his then-pregnant girlfriend to ingest abortion pills he purchased online using his ex-wife’s information.
Range also brought up a case involving Columbus, where 911 was called after a father allegedly held his daughter down and tried to get her to take abortion pills. Range cited these examples to show how “these are not just hypotheticals.” He also used them to illustrate how “dangerous” it is that these pills are “so easily accessible.”
The lack of doctor involvement creates further safety concerns. It is “incredibly important” for a woman to see a doctor beforehand, Range stressed.
Women need an in-person appointment to confirm their pregnancy, indicate how far along they are, and make sure they are not facing an ectopic pregnancy, which this method will not treat. There might also be other risk factors at play, Range said, including blood-clotting disorders or allergies to medication, as well as the need to remove an IUD.
The method also carries with it high complication rates. Range referenced numbers from the Ohio Department of Health, which showed 41 women experienced abortion complications in 2023, with those numbers increasing each year.
“This is not a safe procedure,” Range stressed. “This is a procedure that’s sending women … into the hospital, particularly, because again, there’s no doctor involved. It’s just anybody can order these online and take them.”
The procedure involves a woman taking a dose of mifepristone, followed by another dose 24-48 hours later. After the baby is starved of nutrients, the woman will experience cramping and contractions to expel her dead child at home without medical supervision.
“Women are experiencing what really amounts to crime scenes … in their bathrooms,” Range said.
Although the FDA approved of the abortion pill method in 2000 for up to seven weeks, that method was expanded to 10 weeks in 2016.
Most women experience abdominal pain and may also experience nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, and a headache. Women may need surgery if the method is incomplete.
In an April 2025 study of insurance claims from 800,000 women prescribed mifepristone for their abortions from 2017-2023, there was a 10.9% chance of women experiencing infection, hemorrhaging, or another serious adverse events within 45 days. These adverse events are 22 times higher than what the Food and Drug Administration reported.
Not long after former FDA Director Marty Makary was ousted from his position last month, the FDA announced it would move forward with a study on abortion pill safety.
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