Pro-life leaders have criticized the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its handling of controversial abortion pills currently before the high court. They accuse the government of operating with “reckless disregard.”
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday heard arguments in a case that could restrict nationwide access to abortion drugs such as mifepristone. Mifepristone is a drug that has drawn the ire of the pro-life community, including March for Life President Jeanne Mancini.
“The FDA’s lifting of nearly all safeguards on the dangerous abortion drug mifepristone leaves women and girls with serious and even life-threatening conditions without the continued care of their health care providers,” Mancini said. “They are being unnecessarily exposed to the risk of suffering serious complications.” “We want the FDA to be held accountable for failing to meet its own standards when it comes to abortion drugs. As an agency tasked with protecting women’s health and safety, such reckless disregard is unacceptable. .”
The FDA v. Hippocratic Medical Alliance case centers on mifepristone. Approved by the FDA in 2000, this drug is used in conjunction with another drug to terminate a pregnancy as early as 10 weeks.
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Amid the debate over mifepristone, demonstrations broke out outside the U.S. Capitol and the Supreme Court on Tuesday. (Djemal Countess of the Women’s March/Getty Images)
The FDA made mifepristone more available in 2021, a year before the Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade, including removing the requirement for patients to see a doctor in person to receive a prescription. Efforts have been made to make it easier.
But months after the Supreme Court’s landmark summer ruling, a federal appeals court in Texas ruled that the FDA’s policy change was illegal, as was an earlier update extending the pill’s recommended dosage by several weeks. It was ruled that. The High Court is currently considering that decision.
“Bending to pressure from the abortion industry, the FDA relaxed the safety requirements for mifepristone, which still has black box warnings,” said National Right to Life President Carol Tobias. “Drugs with black box warnings have the most dangerous side effects and safety concerns, yet the FDA is okay with mifepristone being prescribed and even mailed to women without an in-person examination. ”
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A cabinet containing mifepristone is seen at the Wellspring Health Access Clinic in Casper, Wyoming. (Rachel Wolff of The Washington Post via Getty Images)
SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser told Fox News Digital, “In contrast to the abortion industry, which leaves women suffering in isolation, women who have been harmed by abortion pills have the courage to share their experiences.” I’m proud to share their stories and stand with the doctors who care for them.” . ”
“Today, we are standing up to say that women’s health matters and that the FDA must do its job. We are asking the Supreme Court to uphold protections for women and girls. I ask for it,” she said.
Eric Baptiste, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, said pro-life groups are “simply asking the court to reinstate the original standard, which has been in effect for more than 15 years.”
Pro-choice advocates, on the other hand, argue that mifepristone is a safe and important drug in the post-Roe reproductive health landscape.
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Protesters gather outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on June 25, 2022, in response to the ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. (Tassos Katopodis/Getty Images)
“Decades of research and clinical experience have shown that mifepristone is extremely safe and effective, even when dispensed at a pharmacy or by mail,” said Reproductive Rights Center Senior Sr. Rabia Mukadam, a staff attorney, told FOX News Digital. “There is no legitimate science to dispute this research. Instead, the plaintiffs in this case rely on widely discredited and even retracted research papers and fervent anti-abortion claims. There is.”
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Muqaddam added, “If the Supreme Court sided with the FDA and the plaintiffs and their junk science over decades of high-quality research, countless people would suffer and important drug innovations would be lost. Americans’ ability to access it would also be compromised.”
Planned Parenthood President Alexis McGill Johnson condemned the incident as a “threat” to women’s rights and other rights.
“Beyond the threat to our fundamental rights, the very existence of this case puts all other FDA-approved drugs at risk of being removed from the market or restricted for political reasons. ” said Johnson. “This is reason enough to underline how serious this incident is for the future of sexual and reproductive health care and everything else beyond it.”
