In a video featured on Fox News, a staff member at a Care Net-affiliated pregnancy center exposed troubling practices surrounding the distribution of abortion pills ordered online, showing packages containing unmarked medications, missing instructions and little evidence of medical oversight.
“This is very clearly not the kind of healthcare that women need,” said Rachel Davis, Director of Community Relations at Life Choices of Memphis, Tennessee.
She explained that several women experiencing unplanned pregnancies have brought abortion pills to Life Choices after changing their minds about taking them.
One woman received pills in an ordinary paper envelope with a false return address linked to a Los Angeles public library. Inside were unmarked pills placed between cotton makeup pads, with no instructions or information confirming that the medication was actually mifepristone. Davis said the packaging raised serious questions about the safety and legitimacy of the pills being distributed to women.
Another woman brought the center a package mailed from Massachusetts to Tennessee, where abortion is banned in most circumstances. The package contained abortion pills, instructions for taking mifepristone and misoprostol, information about ectopic pregnancy, details on how to contact a reproductive justice lawyer and instructions for deleting emails and browsing history.
Davis was particularly troubled that the woman had not received an ultrasound or an in-person medical evaluation before obtaining the medication. She warned that an undiagnosed ectopic pregnancy, a potentially life-threatening condition that abortion pills do not treat, could go unrecognized if symptoms such as cramping and bleeding were mistaken for expected medication side effects.
In the video, Davis called on federal and state officials to investigate the distribution of abortion pills through the mail and enforce applicable laws. She believes the packages brought to Life Choices of Memphis demonstrate the need for greater scrutiny of how abortion medications are distributed and whether women are receiving appropriate medical care.
“And now we have proof,” she said. “And the more proof we have, the louder we will say, ‘This is not healthcare and we want it stopped immediately.’ ”
Davis recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to share information about abortion pill packages brought to her center, attend a pro-life stakeholder meeting hosted by Students for Life’s Demetree Institute for Pro-Life Advancement, and participate in legislative and public relations meetings organized by Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. During the visit, a former client and other women shared their personal experiences with congressional staffers, Sen. Lindsey Graham, and White House administration staff.
In an interview with Care Net, Davis reiterated her concerns about the lack of instructions and unmarked medications, while pointing to another troubling finding: some packages contained more pills than expected, including enough for multiple doses. She also warned about the potential health risks to women who obtain abortion medication without appropriate medical supervision.
“They know it will end the life of their child, but it could very well end their life as well,” she said.
As abortion pills become more widely available, Davis encouraged pro-life advocates to make their concerns known to state and federal legislators. She also emphasized the importance of supporting local pregnancy centers, which provide compassionate care to women facing pregnancy decisions and have valuable information and resources to share.
“Put [pregnancy centers] onto your shoulders and get them in front of the right people!” Davis said. “Life Choices of Memphis is having real conversations with our clients about how unsafe the chemical abortion choice is.”
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