pro-life

Last week, the Texas attorney general sued a New York doctor for prescribing abortion medication to a Texas woman in violation of state law that makes abortion-inducing drugs illegal.

The lawsuit is the first of its kind to challenge shield laws that abortion-supporting states passed in an attempt to protect abortionists from the legal ramifications of prescribing abortion-inducing drugs to women in states with laws restricting abortion.

Background

Texas law protects preborn babies from abortion with a few limited exceptions. The law also includes provisions for private citizens to sue those who aid or abet an abortion.

This lawsuit involves a New York doctor who allegedly prescribed mifepristone and misoprostol, the two-pill cocktail known as “the abortion pill,” through a telehealth appointment. The abortion-inducing drugs resulted in serious medical problems for the 20-year-old Texas woman, which required medical intervention.

Legal Arguments

Texas contends that New York-based Dr. Maggie Carpenter knowingly violated Texas abortion law by providing medication to induce an abortion.

In their lawsuit, Texas argues that telehealth appointments must follow state law, even if the doctor is based outside of the state.

The lawsuit claims that the doctor’s continued “violations of Texas law places women and unborn children in Texas at risk.”

Texas is asking for $250,000 in damages and that the doctor be prohibited from violating Texas state law in the future.

Response

New York’s attorney general released a statement in response to the Texas lawsuit claiming New York “will always protect our providers from unjust attempts to punish them for doing their job, and we will never cower in the face of intimidation or threats.”

New York is one of 18 states that passed shield laws to limit the culpability of abortion providers. New York’s shield law helps abortionists by prohibiting cooperation with prosecutions and lawsuits in other states.

Implications

There are far-reaching consequences for this case when it comes to abortion law. This case highlights the growing tension between states that have moved to protect life and states that seek to expand abortion access. If Texas is successful, it would have a significant impact in curbing telehealth abortion services to states with pro-life laws on the books.

This case could reach the United States Supreme Court and become a landmark case addressing abortion rights and state sovereignty.

The Daily Citizen will continue to follow this developing story.

Image from Getty.

The Kroger Company, America’s largest grocery retailer, is no longer listing the abortion drug Mifepristone on their website.

The Kroger brand includes stores such as King Soopers, Ralph’s, Dillons, Smith’s and City Market. 

Prior to this week, company pharmacies were listing the drug for $7 for members of the Kroger Health Savings Club.

Prescription medication at the grocery chain is big business. In 2023, Kroger Pharmacies reported $14.5 billion in revenue.

Walmart’s Sam’s Club, along with CVS and Walgreens stores, have been making the abortion drug available for purchase.

So, what changed from last week to this week for Kroger?

It’s a bit curious.

Our friends at the Family Research Council reached out and received an email response from the company.

“The Kroger Company Family of Pharmacies do not carry Mifepristone, nor do we dispense it,” they wrote.

Only they were advertising the exact opposite. Pressed, Kroger replied:

 “The Kroger Family of Pharmacies doesn’t carry Mifepristone and was listed on the Kroger Health Savings Club site in error.”

When Bernard “Barney” Kroger opened his first store in Cincinnati in 1883 with his life savings of $372, he led with a bold but simple motto:

“Be particular. Never sell anything you would not want yourself.”

The pioneering grocer was the first to have a bakery and butcher alongside other household staples. You could say he invented the modern-day supermarket.

As a teenager, Bernard was forced to work in a drug store after his father lost his job. As a member of a church-going family, the young Kroger quit, though, when it was demanded he had to work Sundays. Instead, he began selling tea door-to-door. This set-up allowed him to control his own hours and never miss church.

Barney would credit his believing mother with instilling in him a deep sense of self-discipline, which enabled him to manage and expand his burgeoning company. What might have come of Barney’s career if his mother hadn’t objected to him working on the Sabbath?

As a Christian, Kroger would never have authorized his grocery chain selling the abortion pill. Nor does selling such a drug designed to kill square with the company’s motto of never selling anything you don’t want for yourself.

Since Roe’s reversal in 2022, abortion zealots have been harassing and haranguing companies like Kroger to carry Mifepristone and badgering and bullying insurance companies to cover the deadly pills.

Kroger’s decision is the right, good and moral one, and should also be good for business. For those of us who don’t want to give our hard-earned money to companies that support abortion, we appear to have a friend in the mega grocer.

Don’t fall for the pretty packaging and empty rhetoric of retailers that champion radical policies that claim lives and harm women’s health. No company that supports abortion is family friendly.

Kroger’s new slogan, “Fresh for everyone,” is supposed to underscore the company’s many healthy offerings. But it’s also refreshing to see a major corporation refuse to buckle to the rotten forces undermining the sanctity and beauty of every life.

Image from Shutterstock.