CV NEWS FEED // CatholicVote joined a coalition of over 30 pro-life organizations Tuesday in urging the Trump administration to evaluate the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of the abortion drug mifepristone, immediately following the release of a new study revealing serious health risks.
In a letter to President Donald Trump, the coalition praised Trump’s pro-life leadership and called for swift action to protect unborn children and their mothers. The letter argues that mifepristone—used in over 60% of US abortions—was irresponsibly approved in 2000 and continues to harm women.
“We respectfully ask that you take swift action to protect the rights of states to defend unborn children, in keeping with your campaign pledge to return the issue of abortion to the states,” the letter read, calling on the administration to stand firm “as a defender of the weak and vulnerable.”
The appeal follows a shocking study released Monday, which found that nearly 11% of women suffer severe or life-threatening complications after undergoing an abortion with mifepristone.
As CatholicVote reported Monday, this complication rate is 22 times higher than what the FDA-approved label indicates.
“The FDA needs to recognize that this is a red alert,” CatholicVote’s Joshua Mercer said. “A serious complication rate this high would be intolerable for any drug, let alone the most controversial one.”
Just days before the study’s release, FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary said the agency has “no plans to take action on mifepristone,” but left open the possibility of a future review if new data emerges.
“I believe as a scientist that you’ve got to evolve as the data comes in,” Makary said. “So, if the data suggests something or tells us that there’s a real signal, then we can’t promise that we’re not going to act on that data that we have not yet seen.”
Despite the growing concerns, the FDA’s website still calls mifepristone “safe and effective.” Pro-life researchers, including CatholicVote, have long criticized the drug’s rushed approval and the agency’s disregard of mounting evidence of its dangers.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy also indicated earlier this year that Trump tasked him with reviewing the drug’s safety profile.
“President Trump has made it clear to me that one of the things he has not taken a position yet is mifepristone, a detailed position,” Kennedy said during his January confirmation. “But he’s made it clear to me that he wants me to look at safety issues, and I’ll ask the [National Institutes of Health] and [Food and Drug Administration] to do that.”
The pro-life coalition also warned that the Biden administration’s policy of mailing abortion pills has enabled abortionists to defy state pro-life laws.
“Unfortunately, Democrats and the left are trampling on the rights of state legislators to implement the will of the people to protect life, and they are using the US Postal Service to do so,” the letter stated.
The letter pointed to so-called “shield laws” in states like California and New York that protect abortionists who illegally ship mifepristone into pro-life states from prosecution.
Two recent cases in Texas and Louisiana, where women suffered serious medical emergencies from mifepristone, were cited as examples. In both cases, the pills were reportedly sent by New York abortionist Margaret Carpenter, who was shielded from prosecution by Democrat governors.
“There is substantial evidence indicating that some women are forced to take the medication, sometimes unknowingly,” the letter said. “This is exactly what happened in Louisiana where the law protects unborn children and their mothers from abortion.”
“States must be empowered to enforce pro-life laws, all the original safety protocols on mifepristone must be restored, and the FDA must investigate mifepristone, reconsidering its approval altogether,” the letter concluded. “The lives of women and unborn children and the rights of states depend upon it.”
The Trump administration has yet to publicly comment on whether it plans to take formal action following the coalition’s request.