As we mentioned previously, the media are desperately seeding narrative ahead of the Supreme Court’s oral arguments on whether the FDA violated the law when it issued emergency approval for Mifepristone, framing the issue instead as a matter of “access”. But NBC has taken that advocacy one step further.
Watch this segment from correspondent Dasha Burns’ latest dispatch, from what can charitably be called an abortion pill mill:
DASHA BURNS: In this basement in upstate New York, one group is giving abortion access to thousands in states where it's illegal. We're not showing faces because they fear repercussions.
Where's a lot of this medication going?
ANONYMOUS: The medication is going to all the states that the pharmacy will not send to. So I would say the majority are going to Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Georgia.
What else do you call a center that dispenses pills in a manner so as to skirt questions of illegality? That was certainly appropriate when the discourse centered around opioids, so why wouldn’t it be the case now?
This is a follow-up to Burns’ previous item on Mifepristone, wherein she visited a Planned Parenthood in Miami and received several testimonials on the convenience of abortion pills. The whole play here is to build sympathy around the access argument.
But the hearing before the Court isn’t at all about access or the availability of abortion pills. Rather, it is about administrative law and a runaway federal bureaucracy. Credit to Burns for at least showcasing the perspective from a pro-life advocate who made this very point, which is something that usually doesn’t make it into the media’s advocacy for unrestricted abortion.
We’ll see what coverage looks like after oral arguments. Nonetheless, I predict coverage will continue to center around access to abortion rather than the runaway federal bureaucracy. Especially if the Supreme Court rules against the FDA come June.
Click “expand” to view the full transcript of the aforementioned report as aired on NBC Nightly News on Monday, March 26th, 2024:
LESTER HOLT: Back now with the abortion pill battle. While it's banned in 14 states, some activists have taken it upon themselves to mail it to women in those places. But as Dasha Burns explains, that could all change with a case that goes before the Supreme Court tomorrow.
DASHA BURNS: In this basement in upstate New York, one group is giving abortion access to thousands in states where it's illegal. We're not showing faces because they fear repercussions.
Where's a lot of this medication going?
ANONYMOUS: The medication is going to all the states that the pharmacy will not send to. So I would say the majority are going to Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Georgia.
BURNS: New York is one of six states operating under new shield laws when it comes to telehealth, which protect providers doing this from prosecution. For now.
How many prescriptions are you mailing out today?
ANONYMOUS: Today we're doing 112.
BURNS: Dr. Linda Prine prescribes pills from New York City.
What is the scale of this operation?
LINDA PRINE: So before we had the shield law, we were mailing pills to the blue states. After we passed our shield law, the first month we sent about 4,000 pills into restricted states. And now we're up to around 10,000 pills a month
BURNS: Anti-abortion rights groups taking notice.
KATIE DANIEL: The fact remains that just because you are sitting in California does not mean that you are not violating the laws of Florida, Texas and 30 other states. So I think they have a false sense of security about this.
BURNS: But that access in question. The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments tomorrow in a case that could prohibit prescription of abortion pills via telemedicine and prevent providers from mailing them.
What action do you want the Supreme Court to take?
DANIEL: We hope that the Supreme Court will agree with the two lower courts who have already found that it's likely that the FDA broke federal law and its own rules when it brought the abortion drugs to market.
ANONYMOUS: I think what we're talking about is really ways to work around whatever scenario comes up so that we can continue to get these medications to patients.
BURNS: Dasha Burns, NBC News, New Paltz, New York.
