Public Policy

A Georgia woman who was about 22 or 23 weeks pregnant ordered abortion drugs by mail, which are only authorized for use up to about 10 weeks, and after taking the drugs, her baby was delivered alive but died about an hour later due to damage from the drugs. Local law enforcement arrested the mother on murder and drug charges, but the legal landscape is complicated by Georgia laws that protect mothers from prosecution for harm to their unborn children, and the federal government has not enforced the Comstock Act, which bans mailing abortion drugs, contributing to ongoing risks from mail-order abortion pills.