Chemical Abortion: Endangering Wisconsin Women

In a deadly turn of events, the abortion rate has begun to climb once more, thanks to abortion advocates’ push to get abortion pills to women in pro-life states via telemedicine. 

In border states like Minnesota, Michigan, and Illinois, abortionists have begun prescribing the abortion pills mifepristone and misoprostol to women in Wisconsin without ever seeing them in person. Women can fill out online forms and get abortion pills in the mail within days.  

It’s estimated now up to 1 in 10 chemical abortions are delivered via mail—with abortionists protected from liability thanks to shield laws. Shield laws are efforts by border states to shield abortionists from prosecution for distributing abortion pills across state lines, without ever physically examining their patients.  

Abortion advocates must feel the need for shield laws not only because they are skirting the laws of other states, but also because of the numerous risks that come with chemical abortions. 

• During a chemical abortion, the woman will likely be at home, unsupervised by medical personnel. While this is often promoted as a privacy-conscious feature, this patient abandonment could be deadly if medical attention and intervention is required.  

• Only half of pregnant women accurately remember their last menstrual period, the most basic measure of gestational age. If a woman is farther along in pregnancy than estimated, the abortion could be incomplete, requiring surgical interventions. 

• Chemical abortions have four times the complication rate of surgical abortion, and women are 50% more likely to need to visit the ER following the abortion. A woman could experience hemorrhaging or retained tissue that can lead to a dangerous infection. 

• Without oversight, abortion pills can fall into the hands of traffickers and abusive partners, who may coerce or deceive women into getting an abortion. There is no verification of patient age, leaving minor girls without protection. (A Wisconsin man notoriously slipped the abortion pill to his girlfriend by spiking her drink, to cause the death of their unborn child.) Instances of abuse like this go unreported and hidden every day because of lack of oversight. 

While abortion advocates might see their actions flouting Wisconsin law as a form of heroic resistance, in reality, their drug-dealing scheme puts the women of Wisconsin in harm’s way.  

While this trend to push abortion pills is discouraging, we are not without hope. A 2023 report estimated at least 1,500 babies are alive today because of the fall of Roe and Wisconsin’s pro-life law. While abortion advocates may be working overtime to undermine our law, every day we are working to support women facing unexpected pregnancies, saving the lives of their children, and protecting them from the harm of chemical abortion.