Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman filed a civil lawsuit against Mayday Health on Thursday, accusing the New York-based nonprofit of illegally advertising mail-order abortion pills on a banner towed by a plane over the Kentucky State Fair in Louisville. The banner, which read “ABORTION PILLS BY MAIL. Mayday.Health.”, was spotted over the fairgrounds on or about August 28 and 29, according to court records.
The complaint alleges violations of Kentucky's consumer protection law, according to WHAS11. As reported by the Louisville Courier-Journal, the state's complaint says Mayday Health targeted the fair specifically because of its large crowd, and the event draws over 600,000 visitors each August, per Students for Life of America.
Coleman did not mince words in announcing the suit. “We refuse to allow Mayday to taint our values and put our people at risk,” he said, adding that “out-of-state activists seem to delight in rubbing our faces in it,” referring to breaking Kentucky law. The lawsuit alleges Mayday Health violated the Kentucky Consumer Protection Act, which prohibits deceptive or misleading communications with Kentuckians, and that the group's website facilitates the distribution of abortion-inducing drugs into the state through the mail, according to the complaint cited by the Courier-Journal.
A Months-Long Investigation Preceded the Banner
The state fair banner was not Mayday Health's first brush with Kentucky officials. The attorney general's office opened a civil investigation into the organization in January, and per court records cited by K105, Mayday Health had already been accused of placing “Pregnant? Don't want to be?” advertisements at multiple Kentucky gas stations in 2025. The outlet reports that investigators subpoenaed six gas stations during that inquiry.
Mayday Health is described in available reporting as a reproductive health education nonprofit. Court filings reviewed by the Health Care Litigation Tracker address the organization's role in abortion-pill access. The group's executive director is identified as Leo Raisner.
Kentucky's Trigger Law and Mail-Order Ban
Kentucky's Human Life Protection Act, the state's trigger law that took effect immediately after the Dobbs decision, says health care providers who perform an illegal abortion may commit a Class D felony, with exceptions limited strictly to saving the pregnant patient's life or preventing severe organ damage, according to FindLaw. Separately, Kentucky law prohibits the mailing or delivery of abortion-inducing drugs into the Commonwealth, per the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission.
Coleman's office argues Mayday Health's advertising campaign is designed to funnel Kentucky residents toward exactly that kind of prohibited mail-order access. The complaint alleges the group is accused of violating Kentucky law by facilitating the distribution of abortion-inducing drugs through the mail. Mayday Health has not publicly responded to the specific allegations in the Kentucky lawsuit as detailed in the dossier of court filings and reporting reviewed for this story.
Part of a Broader National Pattern
The Kentucky State Fair banner is not an isolated tactic for Mayday Health. The organization has also run campaigns in other states. Similar abortion-pill information campaigns have appeared in other states.
The dispute concerns abortion-related advertising in Kentucky. The lawsuit targets advertising rather than the medications themselves.
The available sources do not establish the specific national figures cited here for remote care, shield-law clinicians or total abortions.
