Police arrested an Illinois man on two counts of intentional homicide of an unborn child after emergency personnel responded to a call of a pregnant woman facing a medical emergency Friday.
Emerson Evans allegedly drugged his girlfriend with the abortion drug mifepristone that he said he bought from “a girl on campus,” local news reported. The unborn baby was at around seven weeks gestation, according to the mother. The victim reportedly suspected that she had been given the drugs vaginally without her knowledge. The same report added that the pills were intended to be taken by mouth.
Evans, who eventually admitted to giving the woman mifepristone, will be detained pending his trial, and will appear for an arraignment early in September, a local news source reported.
Governor J.B. Pritzker, D-Ill., has made the state a shrine to abortion accessibility, releasing a statement the same day police responded to the call Friday, lauding the state’s efforts to “bolster reproductive health … making contraception and the abortion pill more available across the state.”
The statement detailed two pro-abortion laws signed by Gov. Pritzker Friday. One expands the legal shield covering those who offer abortion-related services to women from states where abortion is illegal. Gov. Pritzker’s statement explained that the cover for those providing “reproductive healthcare” would now include “all health care providers” including “Licensed Certified Professional Midwives and wholesale drug distributors.” It also amended existing state law to allow for the prescription of drugs whose approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had been revoked, so long as they are “still considered effective by the World Health Organization.” It specifically names mifepristone, saying “anti-choice politicians” have attempted to revoke its approval for “political reasons.”
An April study from the Ethics and Public Policy Institute revealed that abortion by mifepristone is at least 22 times more likely to cause a serious adverse medical event than reported on the drug label.
The other bill signed Friday mandated that all public colleges and universities in the state with student health services must provide students access to a professional who can advise on, prescribe, and dispense contraceptives, as well as a professional who can prescribe for chemical abortion drugs. If the institution has a pharmacy, it is required to have a physical location on campus where students can obtain chemical abortion drugs. Institutions are also required to publicize on their health services websites how students can access these contraceptives and abortifacients.
Gov. Pritzker’s office did not immediately respond to The Federalist’s request for comment asking whether he still believes these laws are in the best interest of Illinois women in light of the tragedy allegedly caused by broad mifepristone access in his state last week.
A 2022 fact sheet from Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul confirmed that women in Illinois can obtain abortion drugs by mail following an online appointment. It also affirmed the “right” of those under 18 to have abortions. Websites like Plan C advertise abortion providers who will dispense the drugs to women all over the country. It details broad access in Illinois that enables women to order abortion drugs without any kind of medical appointment, with some companies offering them even before she is pregnant.
This incident Friday is not the first of its kind. In June, a Texas man allegedly pushed his girlfriend to get an abortion, eventually spiking her coffee shop order with an abortion drug, causing the unborn baby to die. In a similar situation, a man added an abortifacient to his girlfriend’s hot cocoa, according to allegations in a lawsuit recently filed in Texas.
Some state leaders, like Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, are taking action against the abortion pill suppliers mailing the drugs into states where they have been outlawed. On July 29, the attorneys general of 16 states sent a letter to congressional leadership asking that Congress consider enacting legislation against shield laws in pro-abortion states.
Catherine Gripp is a graduate of Arizona Christian University where she earned a degree in communication and a minor in political science. She writes for The Federalist as a reporting intern.
