(Texas Scorecard) – The University of Texas at Austin received a $6,000 invoice from the founder of an organization that distributes abortion drugs through the mail, including in states where the procedure is illegal.
According to emails Texas Scorecard obtained from an open records request, Dr. Rebecca Gomperts, founder of the group Aid Access, submitted a $6,000 invoice to the university in 2021 for assistance given to the work of Dr. Abigail Aiken.
Aid Access is a group that sends abortion drugs through the mail. According to its website, the group has “facilitated over 200,000 online abortions to women in the USA since its start in 2018.” Texas Right to Life has called the group an “illegal abortion cartel.”
“Rebecca Gomperts runs the world’s largest abortion pill cartel,” John Seago of Texas Right to Life told Texas Scorecard.
Also affiliated with Aid Access, Dr. Margaret Carpenter of New Paltz, New York, is currently entangled in legal proceedings with Attorney General Ken Paxton due to her role in sending abortion drugs into Texas.
Gomperts’ request for payment stemmed from her work on the academic paper, “Factors Associated With Use of an Online Telemedicine Service to Access Self-managed Medical Abortion in the US,” published by the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2021.
The paper examined why individuals requested “self-managed medication abortion” through online telemedicine services. The paper claimed that the cost of in-clinic abortions and the physical proximity to an abortion facility were the primary factors that determined demand for abortion drugs via telemedicine.
“Self-managed medication abortion,” which is often more profitable for the abortion industry than procedures performed in brick-and-mortar facilities, is notorious for its significant risk of complications.
The paper was co-authored by Dr. Abigail Aiken, who is currently listed as the Principal Investigator at Project SANA. Texas Scorecard has previously reported on Project SANA, which claims to “study the safety, effectiveness, and accessibility of self-managed medication abortion.”
As of July 16, Project SANA’s page on UT-Austin’s website has been removed. The university did not respond to inquiries about the reasons for this change before publication.
While the records received contained an invoice requesting payment, they did not include records of the payment having been made. Texas Scorecard asked UT-Austin if payment had been made and about the current status of Project SANA. A media representative from UT-Austin said he had “no awareness of operations of individual programs in colleges and schools” and encouraged us to contact Project SANA directly. Project SANA did not respond as of press time.
Beyond this payment, the records reveal an ongoing relationship between Aiken and Gomperts.
In December 2024, Gomperts sent a letter to Aiken in which the former pledged “the support of Aid Access” for an upcoming research project.
Gomperts also favorably cited Aiken’s work “for over two decades providing early medication abortion in countries where safe abortion is not available.”
Finally, the records indicate a strong rapport between Aiken and Gomperts. In the December 2024 letter discussed above, Gomperts tells Aiken, “It has been a pleasure to work closely with you in the past.”
Gomperts has been previously condemned for stating that abortion clients should “lie to everybody.”
Pro-abortion activism at UT-Austin continues while state lawmakers are set to consider pro-life legislation.
Seago commented that these activities at UT-Austin highlight the need for continued action.
“This investigative journalism,” Seago continued, “shows that the abortion pill syndicate is closer to Texas than one may think. In fact, the queenpin herself, Gomperts, has been receiving money from the tax-funded University of Texas by selling abortion drugs and then getting paid by researchers to tell them about her criminal activity.”
Seago urged state lawmakers not to overlook the current danger posed by abortion pills, which are responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of preborn Texans each year. He emphasized that unborn children rely on elected officials to enact the Woman and Child Protection Act during the special session.
Gov. Greg Abbott has placed “legislation further protecting unborn children and their mothers from the harm of abortion” on the call for the current special session of the Texas Legislature that started on July 21.