Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has introduced a bill that would ban the widely used abortion pill mifepristone in the United States and strip the drug of its approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), arguing the medication poses serious risks to women and should no longer be permitted on the market.
Hawley unveiled the measure Feb. 11, calling the chemical abortion drug “inherently dangerous” and urging Congress to intervene while federal regulators conduct an ongoing review of its safety.
The proposal, titled the Safeguarding Women from Chemical Abortion Act, would prohibit the use of mifepristone for killing unborn babies nationwide. If enacted, the bill would withdraw the drug’s FDA approval and make its distribution for abortion a violation of federal law.
"The science is clear: The chemical abortion drug is inherently dangerous to women and prone to abuse. Yet major companies like Danco Laboratories are making billions off it," Hawley told Fox News Digital in a statement. "That's why I am introducing new legislation to ban the use of mifepristone for abortion and empower women to sue its manufacturers. Congress must act now to protect the health and safety of women."
The proposal also includes provisions allowing women to sue manufacturers of the drug if they experience medical harm after taking it.
Mifepristone, first approved by the FDA in 2000, is used as part of a two-drug regimen to induce an abortion in the early stages of a pregnancy. In recent years, chemical abortions have become the most common method of abortion in the United States, accounting for roughly 63% of all abortions in 2023.
Congressional Republicans have increasingly pressed federal agencies to re-examine the approval and distribution rules governing the drug. At the same time, the Trump administration is conducting its own review of mifepristone’s safety profile through federal health regulators.
Hawley’s announcement was followed by statements of support from several pro-life organizations.
"If the FDA will not properly regulate this dangerous drug,” said Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, “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,” Perkins added. “I strongly support Senator Hawley's efforts to uphold the rights of states, protect unborn children, and safeguard the health of mothers."