Lawsuits claiming forced abortions have been rising since the FDA loosened restrictions on pill dispensing in 2021. During the Biden administration, the FDA removed the requirement for in-person procedures, meaning healthcare providers can now prescribe abortion pills to patients entirely online. This change was finalized in 2023.
According to an investigation by DNCF, abortion pills can be prescribed with minimal action—just consult a doctor and confirm your pregnancy. Some websites even allow patients to complete a simple online form to obtain the pills. In fact, projections suggest that 65% of abortions in 2023 will involve pills, a significant increase since 2001. A study from the Journal of the American Medical Association found that 97% of these prescriptions were filled through mail-order pharmacies.
Let’s consider a few cases. According to documents from the Heritage Foundation, some women have filed complaints citing they were coerced into taking abortion pills after the FDA modified its requirements.
2023 — A woman tried to secretly force her ex-boyfriend to take abortion pills
Haley Labone admitted to plotting to end her ex-boyfriend’s 11-week-old fetus’s life by using an abortion pill without the mother’s consent. She even attempted to pay her father with AirPods to carry out her plan.
The father ultimately gave the pills to the police. Labone later informed investigators that she had procured them online. She faces charges for bodily injury to the mother and attempted murder of the unborn child.
2024 — Men deceive women into taking abortion pills
Robert Kawada is accused of misleading his girlfriend into consuming abortion pills he claimed were vitamin supplements. Allegedly, he told her that a medical facility recommended these pills due to low iron levels. Later, he visited her home with the pills, which were, in fact, abortion pills purchased online under someone else’s identity. The woman miscarried after unwittingly taking the medication.
2024 — A man forced his girlfriend to take abortion pills while she slept
Hassan James, a former surgeon in Ohio, allegedly forced crushed abortion pills into his girlfriend’s mouth while she was asleep. Awareness of her wishes regarding the pregnancy made his actions particularly alarming. After he administered the pill, she managed to escape and call for help, but James interfered and ended her call.
She experienced significant bleeding and quickly went to the hospital, where she eventually miscarried her child.
2024 — A man secretly slipped abortion pills into his girlfriend’s drinks
Justin Anthony Banta, a DOJ employee, is accused of adding abortion pills to his girlfriend’s coffee, having previously offered to pay for the pills, which she had refused. An ultrasound showed her baby was healthy, but on the day she met Banta for coffee, she alleged he spiked her drink. Security camera footage reportedly corroborates this, showing him pouring an unknown substance into her cup. She later experienced severe fatigue and excessive bleeding, prompting a hospital visit.
2025 — A mother faces charges for forcing her daughter to take abortion pills
A woman was charged with ordering drugs online and administering them to her daughter, who had previously planned a gender reveal party. Following the forced abortion, the daughter experienced a severe medical emergency and ended up in the hospital, losing her child.
The mother reportedly obtained the medication without consulting her daughter and might have violated specific laws in the process.
2025 — A woman files a wrongful death claim against an ex for tricking her into taking abortion pills
In a separate case, a woman is suing her former partner for secretly mixing abortion pills into her drink. Despite her desire to keep the pregnancy, her partner continuously pressured her to terminate it. Following the ingestion of the drug-laced drink, she began bleeding within a half-hour and lost her baby.
