Elective abortion has been illegal in Kentucky under most circumstances since 2022 when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and returned abortion policy to the states.

Yet, untold numbers of Kentucky women are aborting their unborn children in the privacy of their homes because they can easily receive mifepristone, the primary chemical used to terminate pregnancies, by mail.

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman is trying to change that.

“It is illegal in Kentucky,” Coleman told Kentucky Today. “We are a no abortion state with the exceptions that those who follow this issue are well aware of. This is a poison that is killing children and putting moms at risk.”

Coleman has joined a coalition of 22 other state attorneys general asking the Supreme Court to reverse what he called “the Biden Administration’s unlawful move to open the floodgates for mail order abortion pills without proper doctor supervision.’

In 2023, the FDA under the Biden administration, removed a longstanding requirement that the abortion drug mifepristone by administered only following an in-person visit with a qualified medical professional.

Coleman said the drug not only kills unborn children in violation of state law, but it has also proven to be harmful to women.

“Kentucky has the ability to protect our folks. That's what this argument comes down to. The problem is that a previous administration made a decision that overstepped and enlarged federal authority, allowing these medications to be shipped into states like Kentucky without oversight and without doctor engagement,” said Coleman.

“The risk to maternal health is significant. We've seen abortions increase in Kentucky after Dobbs, due largely to this chemical. We should have the ability to ensure physician involvement.”

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill filed the original lawsuit challenging the relaxed rules in federal court, arguing that the FDA relied on flawed or nonexistent data when it removed the safety guardrails around mifepristone.

The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed, issuing a nationwide ban on mail-order abortion pills.

However, the Supreme Court later set aside the lower court ruling, allowing mail-order access to the drugs while the lawsuit continues.

“The Supreme Court’s interim order does not settle the legal issue,” Coleman said. “We will continue fighting, both in court and through our ongoing civil investigation, to protect Kentuckians and our pro-life laws from these out of state bad actors.”

On May 12 The head of the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Marty Makary resigned after a rocky tenure that included complaints from pro-life activists.

Makary had been accusing a slow walking a promised FDA review of the relaxed regulations on mifepristone.

Coleman said he hopes a new administrator will move the process forward.

“We know recent leadership changes may bring a different view. This is a pro-life administration that we have collaborated with on a number of fronts. We hope the FDA will work with us. The resignation of the commissioner—might that make a difference? We believe so.”