Letters and emails about our bodies and our choices are nobody’s business

Last time I looked, the US Postal Service a It is a federal, not a state service., and mailing abortion pills from a pro-choice state to an anti-abortion state is nobody’s business, especially a business in the state where one lives. Last time I looked, the Federal The Drug Administration determines the safety of drugs, and the FDA determines whether abortion pills are safe.

I’m no legal expert but after reading I’m not sure exactly who is. Various articles On the subject of mailings, including one about a pharmaceutical company, GenBioPro Inc., the generic manufacturer of the FDA-approved abortion pill, mifepristone.

of The Mississippi Free Press recently reported GenBioPro has asked the court to allow the company to mail abortion pills in Mississippi 14 states Prohibition or partial prohibition mifepristone and misoprostol.

These two drugs send fewer patients to the hospital than Tylenol, Viagra, and many other over-the-counter medications. Although not widely known after Roe and Wade’s transcribing, the pills Inducing most abortions. Today, half of all abortions are at home.

Targeting mail-order abortion pills

Pulling Republican Attorney General Lynn Fitch, Mississippi joined. A group of other anti-abortion states Trying to stop women from buying abortion pills. Mississippi by GenBioPro Inc. Case in point argues that federal law already makes selling abortion pills a felony punishable by up to five years in prison, and that prescription drug companies could face fraud charges, though both arguments are disputed.

Still, that won’t stop prosecutor Fitch from coming after us, if we buy an abortion pill for any woman or woman in Mississippi, thankful for the complete lack of privacy online. Women and girls can’t trust anyone with the consequences of their decision to buy an abortion pill. Facebook has recently stolen online messages A conversation between a young Nebraska woman and her mother about abortion pills. Facebook turned over the messages to prosecutors last summer, and the mother and daughter have been charged with violating various laws in Nebraska.

Fighting for a woman’s right to vote, including the right to buy FDA-approved drugs online; No matter where you live, is taking place in many states. Who wins these legal battles, other than the Biden administration, will be up in the air for years. Adds equal rights amendment In the US Constitution, it gives women the rights they deserve, including the right to choose an abortion. It doesn’t look like that’s going to happen anytime soon, unfortunately.

Challenging who controls the distribution of mail across state lines and which laws prevail It is very complicated When it comes to First Amendment rights, online and home privacy rights, and other federal laws. Many state laws can detain not only abortion-pill providers, but also nonprofits, family members and friends who help women who have abortions, and even women who choose to have an abortion.

FDA as pharmacy, protector?

A court ruling that would force prescription abortion pills to be allowed until the legal action is resolved gives women months of security if not more.

Allowing drug companies to mail abortion pills to all states gives women their rights Federal laws Already in place And it makes sure that potentially dangerous pills aren’t offered by corrupt foreign and domestic companies as some kind of misleading aid, as a result of government bans on reputable drug companies selling FDA-approved pills.

Depriving people of what they need or want can lead to trafficking, a version of prohibition that can be very expensive and dangerous.

The Federal Drug Administration is a powerful agency with a mission to protect people from dangerous products. So, while the FDA protects drug companies that make abortion pills, it can be a “company” that sells abortion pills to women.

Maybe turning the FDA into a pharmacy is an extreme idea, but taking away the right to buy something that’s now legal online would be more radical and affect more than half of the American population, from teenage girls to grandparents who want to check on their grandchildren. They had the same rights in the last 50 years.

While some states guarantee that women “caught” having an abortion will not be punished, they have become prosecutors’ witnesses, calling them “vulnerable.” It is an auxiliary point that they will not be investigated criminally because all these are dehumanizing and humiliating. Farah Diaz-TeloLegal Reproductive Justice Nonprofit Senior Counsel and Legal Director When/When.

as if Co-authored op-ed With author and business owner Frances McInerney, we write that after the reversal of Roe, women are now wards of the government that decides what medical advice women should receive. According to Ward, women who deny suffrage are no longer full American citizens. Women are put ‘in their place’ to make them feel that they are not important, respected or influential.

Anti-abortion states have given women no choice, no privacy, no choice but to leave the state they call home, treating them as property.

This MFP Voices article does not necessarily represent the views of Mississippi Free Press, its staff or board members. To submit an essay for the MFP Voices section, send up to 1,200 words and verify information b [email protected] We welcome different points of view.