Louisiana Fights in Court to Stop Mail-Order Abortions

Louisiana pressed a federal judge Tuesday to block a Biden-era Food and Drug Administration rule that eliminated the in-person dispensing requirement for the dangerous abortion drug mifepristone that has killed millions of babies and injured thousands of women.

Louisiana is arguing the change enables illegal chemical abortions in the state, endangers women through unsupervised use and coercion, and directly undermines Louisiana’s ban on abortion.

In a hearing before U.S. District Judge David C. Joseph in the Western District of Louisiana, Louisiana Solicitor General Ben Aguiñaga argued on behalf of the state and co-plaintiff Rosalie Markezich, a Louisiana woman who alleges her ex-boyfriend coerced her into taking mailed abortion pills in 2023 against her will to keep her baby.

Louisiana to End Mass Vaccination Promotion

 By Jack Phillips 

The Louisiana Department of Health said it will no longer promote mass vaccination, according to a memo released by the state’s surgeon general this week.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health (LDH) confirmed that Louisiana Surgeon General Ralph Abraham [pictured right] had ordered his staff to stop engaging in media campaigns and community health fairs to encourage vaccinations and shared the memo with The Epoch Times on Friday.

“The State of Louisiana and LDH have historically promoted vaccines for vaccine preventable illnesses through our parish health units, community health fairs, partnerships and media campaigns,” the memo said. “While we encourage each patient to discuss the risks and benefits of vaccination with their provider, LDH will no longer promote mass vaccination.”

Louisiana state officials will still provide and stock vaccines, according to the memo, which stressed that healthcare providers talk about the benefits and risks posed by vaccines with patients and answer all questions based on scientific evidence.

In a separate letter posted on the state health department’s website on Feb. 13, Abraham was critical of blanket government mandates for vaccines and said that federal officials were erroneous in how they pushed for COVID-19 vaccines. He said individuals should make their own decisions instead.