Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) has ordered several organizations to stop advertising, selling, and shipping abortion-inducing drugs into Texas, calling the practice both unlawful and dangerous.
In a press release, Attorney General Paxton said his office issued cease-and-desist letters to groups including Plan C, Her Safe Harbor, and an affiliate of Aid Access.
He argued that these organizations are violating the federal Comstock Act as well as the Texas Human Life Protection Act, which bans nearly all abortions in the state.
“Texas will not tolerate the murdering of innocent life through illegal drug trafficking,” Attorney General Paxton warned in a statement. “These abortion drug organizations and radical activists are not above the law, and I have ordered the immediate end of this unlawful conduct.”
The announcement follows two high-profile cases in Texas in which men allegedly obtained abortion-inducing drugs to secretly poison their partners. In one lawsuit, a man reportedly used the drugs to end his girlfriend’s pregnancy, which led to the death of the fetus and sent the woman to the hospital.
Attorney General Paxton’s office said groups like Plan C and Her Safe Harbor “advertise abortion pills by mail and promise delivery to Texas within days,” an action the attorney general argues is a “flagrant violation” of state and federal law.
Organizations that fail to comply with the order could face lawsuits, injunctive relief, and civil penalties of at least $100,000 per violation.
Attorney General Paxton said the action reflects his office’s “commitment to protecting innocent life and ensuring that out-of-state activists cannot evade Texas law.”
The news comes after Governor Greg Abbott (R) signed Senate Bill 31 and Senate Bill 33, two bills that further restrict abortions in the Lone Star state while clarifying protections for pregnant women during medical emergencies.