Pro-Life Leaders Call on FDA to Restore Abortion Drug Safeguards

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Ahead of FDA Commissioner nominee Dr. Heidi Overton's confirmation hearing before the Senate HELP Committee, 50 pro-life leaders released a letter calling on the nominee to commit to restoring the safeguards governing mifepristone that existed before the Biden administration while the FDA completes its ongoing review of the drug.

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins offered the following comments on the letter: "Those who advocate for women and the unborn have patiently awaited the end of the Biden-era abortion by mail scheme, which was designed to undermine the Dobbs decision. It is time for the Trump FDA to take action."

The letter reads in part:

"Dr. Overton's confirmation hearing provides an important opportunity for her to make clear what she plans to do about the FDA's extremely permissive policy governing mifepristone.

"There are good reasons the FDA policy should not be this permissive.

"First, there are serious concerns about the safety of the drug. As just one example, a recent study found that nearly 11% of women taking mifepristone have a serious "adverse event" within 45 days of taking it.

"Second, the permissiveness of the current policy is increasing the risk of abuse, especially by men who seek to force women to have abortions without their consent or knowledge. By allowing mifepristone to be obtained without an in-person medical visit, the current FDA policy makes it more difficult to screen vulnerable women outside the presence of potential abusers.

"Third, mail-order abortion is undermining state laws enacted to protect unborn life and women.

"Despite the enactment of new pro-life laws in approximately 20 states since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, abortion numbers nationwide are still increasing. The Biden administration removed the in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone and allowed pharmacies to dispense the drug. Abortion drugs are now being mailed from pro-abortion states into pro-life states, as well as being sent to the United States from overseas.

"Shield laws protecting abortionists are facilitating approximately 14,770 abortions in states with pro-life laws each month, meaning that around 177,240 lives could be saved annually in pro-life states if their laws were respected. State governments attempting to protect life are being undermined by abortion drugs mailed in from outside their borders.

"The FDA is central to this system because it is the federal agency responsible for the approval and protocol governing mifepristone, the most common drug used to kill children in the womb and the only drug designed with abortion as its primary purpose.

"We are told that the FDA is conducting an ongoing study of mifepristone. However, that study has supposedly been ongoing for nearly two years.

"The question is straightforward: Will Dr. Overton at least agree to revert to the policy in place before the Biden administration, a policy that provided at least some minimal safeguards and medical oversight for women until that elusive review is complete?"

To read the full letter, please visit: https://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=LK26I106&f=LK26I106

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