Family Research Council President Tony Perkins announced support on March 11 for a new bill introduced by Senator Josh Hawley and Representative Diana Harshbarger that seeks to withdraw the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the abortion drug mifepristone.
The proposed legislation aims to remove mifepristone from the market and allow women who claim harm from the FDA’s handling of the drug to sue for damages. The bill comes amid ongoing debates about federal oversight of abortion drugs and their impact on women’s health.
Perkins said, “If the FDA will not properly regulate this dangerous drug, then Congress must act to protect women and unborn children from it. The Biden-era policy that enabled the abortion industry to adopt an ‘Amazon-style’ model–shipping abortion drugs directly to doorsteps across America, even into states where unborn life is protected has contributed to a dramatic increase in the killing of unborn children following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, rather than the decrease many expected. I strongly support Congresswoman Harshbarger’s and Senator Hawley’s efforts to uphold the rights of states, protect unborn children, and safeguard the health of mothers.”
Mary Szoch, Director of FRC’s Center for Human Dignity, also commented: “Mifepristone is unlike any other drug approved by the FDA. Instead of restoring and promoting health, mifepristone was approved to kill an innocent child. Moreover, the politically motivated process that resulted in the FDA’s approval of the drug failed to conduct sufficient testing to ensure the safety of those taking it. The results have been tragic. This drug leaves women alone and in pain as they face the devastating reality that what the abortionists promised was just a clump of cells is clearly their visibly recognizable dead unborn child. While enduring this trauma, women are tasked with assessing whether the excruciating pain and bleeding they are experiencing is normal or is the sign of a life-threatening emergency, and in fact, the most recent studies show that more than 10 percent of women who have used mifepristone experience a serious complication. The FDA must do better. The approval of this drug should be revoked.”
The Family Research Council recently published a resource detailing mifepristone’s history and its reported harms at www.frc.org/mifepristonetimeline.
Observers expect further debate as Representative Harshbarger introduces companion legislation in the House later this week.
