The U.S. Justice Department has decided that the Postal Service can deliver abortion pills to any state, even ones where the pill is banned.
The Justice Department rationalized this decision by saying that the sender does not fully know whether the receiver would use the pills to break the law. The pills most commonly used for abortions, mifepristone and misoprostol, also can be used in other ways, such as managing miscarriages or treating gastric ulcers. The receiver does not have to say their purpose in purchasing these drugs.
This legal opinion is the latest attempt from Attorney General Merrick Garland to strengthen abortion access after the overturning of Roe vs. Wade. More than a dozen states have cracked down on abortion since the Supreme Court’s decision. However, the Justice Department’s decision will counteract these strong efforts to eradicate abortion in the United States. As long there is a strong pro-abortion contingent at the federal level, there will be only a limited amount of good states can do in enacting pro-life laws. “This is just another example of the Biden administration twisting the law to push for abortion on demand,” said Katie Glenn, state policy director for the antiabortion advocacy group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. “This is pretty clearly trying to expand protections to people who do know that they are transporting or profiting off of abortion pills.”