Trump can shatter the abortion pill cartel

The abortion pill is the only life-ending drug that does not require consultation or any assurance of accurate identifying information. In fact, for a drug that is intended to end a pregnancy, distributors do not even have to confirm pregnancy at all.

Anyone not looking through the rose-colored glasses handed out by the abortion lobby can see this lack of regulation for what it clearly is: a recipe for rampant abuse. 

Several women have already come forward, sharing how their partner ordered the pill and drugged them, forcing abortions. Victims of sex trafficking have also come forward, recounting how they were forced to abort — often multiple times — by their captors, using the abortion pill.

Somehow, these women go largely ignored by policymakers and those with the power to prevent future abuse. 

Abortion pill manufacturers and distributors have been allowed to form a cartel across and within the borders of the U.S. that has gone unchecked. Even those who pride themselves on giving women “choice” should recognize there is no choice in such abuse. There is no consent in being forced to abort a wanted child. Abortion advocates' core pillar of “autonomy” has been torn down to nothing more than rubble.

As a nation, we attack the foreign cartels threatening the American people in many ways. But can we identify and shatter the ones we have allowed to form within our own borders?

Since the Biden-era FDA used the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to remove the in-person dispensing requirement for the abortion drug mifepristone in 2021, abortion pill distributors have rapidly built their expansive cartel. Women and their abusers can access these cartel distributors online and are often required to fill out questionnaires that have no way to verify whether the alleged patient is actually the one behind the screen. 

Some of the questionnaires tied to these tele services ask you to confidentially verify your name and other personal identifying information. They even ask if you are being forced to order the pills. But what use are any of these questions when the abuser can easily circumvent the system and identify as the victim? 

In his first term, President Trump ordered one foreign abortion pill distributor to cease and desist illegal trafficking of abortion drugs not approved by the FDA into the U.S. Unfortunately, the administration did not follow through on its warning to the doctor in charge, and trafficking of the pill has only escalated.

This term, the Trump administration has the opportunity and ability to send the abortion pill cartel packing. 

Most urgently, the Trump FDA can reinstate the in-person dispensing requirements for mifepristone. New data shows that by the end of 2024 one in four abortions were provided via “telehealth,” demonstrating real and immediate impact reinstating REMS requirements would have. 

This unilateral administrative action can put a swift end to the domestic and criminal mail-order distribution of abortion pills. Although it will not prevent foreign cartel partners from sending the drugs into the country or in-person dispensing at brick-and-mortar abortion businesses, it is a first step.

The Trump administration also needs to heighten scrutiny around mifepristone by working with the Department of Health and Human Services and the DEA to designate the drug as a controlled substance. Drugs with high potential for abuse and which may lead to psychological or physical damage are set to only be prescribed by certain licensed practitioners that hold DEA certifications — and mifepristone should not be an exception. 

Abuse of the abortion pill is rampant. Recent studies have shed further light on the expanded physical and psychological adverse events women are experiencing by taking mifepristone. Women being forced into abortion via the deregulation of the abortion pill are even more likely to experience these dangerous outcomes.

The U.S. Code already creates heightened oversight and penalties for importation of controlled substances. If the Trump administration designates the abortion pill as a controlled substance, it will equip the Department of Justice to prosecute members of the cartel — both foreign and domestic — to the fullest extent of the law. 

Trump must also work alongside the Republican Congress to uphold state laws that prevent abortion pill trafficking. States such as Louisiana and Texas have laws in place that prohibit the abortion pill from being sent women within their borders, but it has been an uphill battle to enforce them, with pro-abortion states enacting shield laws to prevent prosecution of cartel abortionists engaging in pill trafficking. 

This term, Trump must hold true to abolish cartels — including the ones previous administrations have given free rein within our own borders. If Trump truly believes abortion to be a state issue, he should ensure that states have the power to protect their citizens. Women deserve to live without the paranoia that they might be the next victim of this dangerous cartel. 

Gavin Oxley is a public relations consultant currently serving at Americans United for Life.