{"id":36033,"date":"2026-05-06T14:46:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T14:46:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/?p=36033"},"modified":"2026-05-06T14:46:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T14:46:03","slug":"she-didnt-want-an-abortion-the-fdas-policy-made-it-impossible-to-say-no","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/she-didnt-want-an-abortion-the-fdas-policy-made-it-impossible-to-say-no\/","title":{"rendered":"She Didn’t Want an Abortion. The FDA’s Policy Made It Impossible to Say No."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By: Suzanne Bowdey, originally published May 5, 2026, The Washington Stand<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not every woman taking the abortion drug has a choice. Rosalie Markezich knows, because she\u2019s one of them. When she missed her period and took a pregnancy test, she admits that even though it wasn\u2019t planned, \u201cdeep down, I also kind of wanted it to be positive.\u201d When she saw the line, Rosalie remembers, \u201cthe first thing I did was smile.\u201d Her boyfriend, the world now knows, did not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was October of 2023. Rosalie waited a week to tell him, and for a few days, \u201cit seemed like we were on the same page.\u201d Out of the blue, things changed. \u201cIt was just like a 180 flip of a switch,\u201d\u00a0she tells people now<\/a>. He told Rosalie he didn\u2019t want the baby, even when she emphasized that she did. He started arguing with her, telling her a baby would ruin his life. Then, one day, a package of abortion drugs showed up in the mailbox in her name \u2014 even though they\u2019re against the law in Louisiana and even though she\u2019d never consented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rosalie tried lying, telling her boyfriend that she\u2019d already taken them. \u201cHe did not believe me for one second.\u201d So, she did the only thing she could think of: she stood her ground. \u201cI want to keep it,\u201d Rosalie declared. But he got angry, snapping and raising his voice. As someone who\u2019d suffered domestic violence, she started to panic, sensing the situation was starting to escalate to a dangerous place. \u201c[I] feared for my life and my child\u2019s life.\u201d So she swallowed the pills while he watched. \u201cI felt pressured,\u201d Rosalie says emotionally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy plan was to immediately go and throw them up,\u201d she recalls. \u201cAnd so, I started freaking out, having a panic attack. [M]y legs and arms all locked up and [started] shaking.\u201d Rosalie got out of the car and ran to the bathroom, trying to get the pills out of her system. But it was too late. \u201cThe blood started coming, and at that moment, I knew [the] chances were not in my favor. And so, I just laid there bleeding, crying.\u201d She spent the rest of the night on a towel in the garage, \u201csoaked in blood.\u201d Blood, she shudders, that didn\u2019t stop for over a week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rosalie eventually got up and went to work with the kids that she loved. But she would go and look at those children and think, \u201cI [will] never be able to hold the hand of my baby.\u201d The mental anguish,\u00a0she says now<\/a>, \u201chas never left.\u201d \u201cI am still haunted by the trauma, and I will mourn my child that I thought I was going to have [forever].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A year and a half later, she knows that her situation could\u2019ve been different if the laws of her home state had been enforced. If her boyfriend couldn\u2019t have accessed the drugs outside Louisiana, Rosalie wouldn\u2019t be telling her story at press conferences, to Congress, or the courts. She wouldn\u2019t be the center of one of the biggest mifepristone cases in the last decade. \u201cIf mail-order abortion wasn\u2019t a thing, I\u2019m 100% sure I would have my child,\u201d she insists now. \u201cMy then-boyfriend would not have been able to order these drugs if the FDA hadn\u2019t recklessly removed the requirement for an in-person office visit before prescribing them. And if he had tried to force me to go to an abortion clinic to get these drugs, I would have told the doctor, \u2018I do not want this.\u2019 But I was denied of that opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That, she says, is why she\u2019s speaking out. \u201cNo woman should have to experience what I went through. And yet I\u2019m hearing story after story of women who are placed in unacceptable situations like mine, because the FDA failed to protect them. And that\u2019s why I\u2019m fighting back,\u201d Rosalie stresses. \u201cI want to be a voice for those women and their babies, and I want to hold the FDA accountable for these destructive actions against women and their children.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While nothing can bring back her baby, Rosalie\u2019s case has the power to change how the government treats chemical abortion. On Friday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted Louisiana\u2019s request to block the dangerous Biden-era policy on mifepristone that allows the drug to be shipped in the mail to any state, regardless of their pro-life laws. Thanks to Rosalie\u2019s courage \u2014 and the work of state Attorney General Liz Murrill (R) and others \u2014 there\u2019s a strong chance that, at the very least, women will have to see a doctor in person before the pills are prescribed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the Supreme Court\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0Monday that it will wait to enforce that requirement until it considers the legal arguments, Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Erin Hawley\u00a0explained<\/a>\u00a0to Family Research Council President Tony Perkins that pro-lifers shouldn\u2019t be discouraged by the temporary order. \u201cIt is quite typical for the court to enter what\u2019s called an administrative stay so that the full court can consider the stay request. So [it\u2019s] nothing unusual,\u201d she reassured Americans who might not understand why SCOTUS is blocking the changes. \u201cWe expected Justice [Samuel] Alito to grant this administrative stay. And now,\u201d Hawley stressed, \u201cthe really important part starts. Louisiana will file on Thursday a response to that application before the court. And we hope that the full Supreme Court will let the Fifth Circuit\u2019s \u2026 reinstatement of those crucial protections for women continue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Erin has reiterated for months, the Biden administration made this whole situation \u201cinfinitely worse\u201d when it decided to relax the rules governing mifepristone. \u201cDrugs can now be mailed to dorm rooms or homes without ever talking to, much less seeing, a doctor. \u2026 It\u2019s unconscionable,\u201d she argued at a press conference last month. \u201cMake no mistake, abortion drugs are not about women\u2019s health. They are reckless. \u2026 And when the Biden administration stripped away that last remaining safeguard [for prescribing them], they did so in the face of studies that acknowledged that more women would be sent to the emergency room, that more women would be hospitalized. And they did it anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The whole point of the Dobbs ruling was to return the question of abortion to the states. Dozens of them acted immediately, passing strong protections for the unborn and women. But now, thanks to Biden \u2014 and now, the Trump administration\u2019s indifference \u2014 those democratically-enacted laws have been tossed aside, unconstitutionally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe state\u2019s pro-life laws are utterly unenforceable\u201d in this environment, Hawley underscored on \u201cWashington Watch\u201d Monday. \u201cNearly 1,000 abortions take place every month because pro-abortion doctors mail these drugs across state lines.\u201d And while the Trump FDA has promised to study the drug and its shocking side effects (almost 11% of women experience \u201cserious adverse events\u201d from the drug, research shows), there\u2019s no proof those studies are actually taking place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[A] year ago, they said they were going to review it,\u201d Perkins reminded people. \u201cNothing yet. \u2026 So in the meantime, Louisiana has a right to act.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hawley underscored that point, suggesting that what Biden did blatantly undermined states\u2019 rights. And yet, the fact that the Trump administration refuses to use its power to reinstate the FDA\u2019s safety standards and stop the flood of abortion drugs to pro-life states continues to confound Americans. Radical governors like California\u2019s Gavin Newsom (D) and New York\u2019s Kathy Hochul (D) shouldn\u2019t be determining the abortion policy of red states like Louisiana. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is just insulting, right?\u201d Marc Wheat, general counsel for Advancing American Freedom\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0The Wall Street Journal. Perkins had another word for it: \u201cunprecedented.\u201d \u201cYou have Republican states that are challenging a Republican administration over this because their laws are being undermined. Pro-life voters are going to be wondering what\u2019s going on when they head into the polls in November.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suzanne Bowdey serves as editorial director and senior writer at The Washington Stand.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Suzanne Bowdey, originally published May 5, 2026, The Washington Stand Not every woman taking the abortion drug has a choice. Rosalie Markezich knows, because she\u2019s one of them. When she missed her period and took a pregnancy test, she admits that even though it wasn\u2019t planned, \u201cdeep down, I also kind of wanted it…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36034,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nShe Didn't Want an Abortion. The FDA's Policy Made It Impossible to Say No. - Cincinnati Right to Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/she-didnt-want-an-abortion-the-fdas-policy-made-it-impossible-to-say-no\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"She Didn't Want an Abortion. The FDA's Policy Made It Impossible to Say No. - Cincinnati Right to Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By: Suzanne Bowdey, originally published May 5, 2026, The Washington Stand Not every woman taking the abortion drug has a choice. Rosalie Markezich knows, because she\u2019s one of them. When she missed her period and took a pregnancy test, she admits that even though it wasn\u2019t planned, \u201cdeep down, I also kind of wanted it…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/she-didnt-want-an-abortion-the-fdas-policy-made-it-impossible-to-say-no\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cincinnati Right to Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-06T14:46:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-06T14:46:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/She-didnt-want-an-abortion.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1282\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"638\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Melanie Wade\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Melanie Wade\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/she-didnt-want-an-abortion-the-fdas-policy-made-it-impossible-to-say-no\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/she-didnt-want-an-abortion-the-fdas-policy-made-it-impossible-to-say-no\/\",\"name\":\"She Didn't Want an Abortion. The FDA's Policy Made It Impossible to Say No. - Cincinnati Right to Life\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/she-didnt-want-an-abortion-the-fdas-policy-made-it-impossible-to-say-no\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/she-didnt-want-an-abortion-the-fdas-policy-made-it-impossible-to-say-no\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/She-didnt-want-an-abortion.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-06T14:46:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-06T14:46:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/9a5fe1347253fa134f21cdb919caf789\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/she-didnt-want-an-abortion-the-fdas-policy-made-it-impossible-to-say-no\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/she-didnt-want-an-abortion-the-fdas-policy-made-it-impossible-to-say-no\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/she-didnt-want-an-abortion-the-fdas-policy-made-it-impossible-to-say-no\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/She-didnt-want-an-abortion.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/She-didnt-want-an-abortion.jpg\",\"width\":1282,\"height\":638},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/she-didnt-want-an-abortion-the-fdas-policy-made-it-impossible-to-say-no\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"She Didn’t Want an Abortion. The FDA’s Policy Made It Impossible to Say No.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/\",\"name\":\"Cincinnati Right to Life\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/9a5fe1347253fa134f21cdb919caf789\",\"name\":\"Melanie Wade\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7ec3fd7a1977f4be962597ccc3e12001?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7ec3fd7a1977f4be962597ccc3e12001?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Melanie Wade\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/author\/mwade\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"She Didn't Want an Abortion. The FDA's Policy Made It Impossible to Say No. - Cincinnati Right to Life","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/she-didnt-want-an-abortion-the-fdas-policy-made-it-impossible-to-say-no\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"She Didn't Want an Abortion. The FDA's Policy Made It Impossible to Say No. - Cincinnati Right to Life","og_description":"By: Suzanne Bowdey, originally published May 5, 2026, The Washington Stand Not every woman taking the abortion drug has a choice. Rosalie Markezich knows, because she\u2019s one of them. When she missed her period and took a pregnancy test, she admits that even though it wasn\u2019t planned, \u201cdeep down, I also kind of wanted it…","og_url":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/she-didnt-want-an-abortion-the-fdas-policy-made-it-impossible-to-say-no\/","og_site_name":"Cincinnati Right to Life","article_published_time":"2026-05-06T14:46:02+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-05-06T14:46:03+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1282,"height":638,"url":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/She-didnt-want-an-abortion.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Melanie Wade","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Melanie Wade","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/she-didnt-want-an-abortion-the-fdas-policy-made-it-impossible-to-say-no\/","url":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/she-didnt-want-an-abortion-the-fdas-policy-made-it-impossible-to-say-no\/","name":"She Didn't Want an Abortion. The FDA's Policy Made It Impossible to Say No. - Cincinnati Right to Life","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/she-didnt-want-an-abortion-the-fdas-policy-made-it-impossible-to-say-no\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/she-didnt-want-an-abortion-the-fdas-policy-made-it-impossible-to-say-no\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/She-didnt-want-an-abortion.jpg","datePublished":"2026-05-06T14:46:02+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-06T14:46:03+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/9a5fe1347253fa134f21cdb919caf789"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/she-didnt-want-an-abortion-the-fdas-policy-made-it-impossible-to-say-no\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/she-didnt-want-an-abortion-the-fdas-policy-made-it-impossible-to-say-no\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/she-didnt-want-an-abortion-the-fdas-policy-made-it-impossible-to-say-no\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/She-didnt-want-an-abortion.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/She-didnt-want-an-abortion.jpg","width":1282,"height":638},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/she-didnt-want-an-abortion-the-fdas-policy-made-it-impossible-to-say-no\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"She Didn’t Want an Abortion. The FDA’s Policy Made It Impossible to Say No."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/","name":"Cincinnati Right to Life","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/9a5fe1347253fa134f21cdb919caf789","name":"Melanie Wade","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7ec3fd7a1977f4be962597ccc3e12001?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7ec3fd7a1977f4be962597ccc3e12001?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Melanie Wade"},"url":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/author\/mwade\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36033"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36033\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36035,"href":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36033\/revisions\/36035"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}