Conservative Think Tank Challenges HHS Secretary on Abortion Pill Review

A conservative think tank is urging Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to follow through on his commitment to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the abortion pill.

During a Senate committee hearing on May 14, Kennedy mentioned, “I’ve asked Marty Makary, who’s the director of the FDA, to conduct a complete review and report back.”

Advancing American Freedom, the think tank established by former Vice President Mike Pence, expressed gratitude for Kennedy’s promise to examine mifepristone. This comes in response to a new report by the Ethics and Public Policy Center, which revealed that 11% of women experience severe complications like sepsis or hemorrhaging within 45 days after taking the drug.

Kennedy characterized the findings as “alarming” and suggested that “at the very least, the label should be changed.”

Additionally, AAF has made a public records request for documents related to mifepristone that Congress sought back in 1996, but they have yet to receive a response.

In their letter to Kennedy, they expressed belief that the requested documents still exist, even if they haven’t been produced. “As you undertake a comprehensive review of mifepristone, we think the documents we’re after will be crucial in understanding the legal shortcuts the FDA took to approve a drug that poses more risks than previously acknowledged by your predecessors,” the letter continues.

Notably, in April 2021, the FDA removed the requirement for abortion drugs to be dispensed in person, enabling patients to obtain them via telehealth and mail.