Republican senators blast FDA for expanding abortion pill access
Republican senators on Wednesday urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to tighten safety standards and reconsider partnerships tied to abortion pills, accusing the agency of expanding access without adequate...
By Fox News · Fox News
Republican senators on Wednesday urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to tighten safety standards and reconsider partnerships tied to abortion pills, accusing the agency of expanding access without adequate oversight. On the call, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo, and Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., expressed frustration that the agency hadn’t already overhauled safety parameters around abortion pills — and that it had instead expanded its partnerships with producers of the drugs that make chemical abortions available. "My plea to the FDA is to follow the science to put back safety guardrails," Hawley said. "I’ve called on the director of the FDA to take these steps. The public deserves to have answers." HAWLEY BLASTS FDA APPROVAL OF NEW ABORTION DRUG, CITES SAFETY AND TRUST CONCERNS The press conference held by the senators indicates that abortion policy is still a mainstay priority for some Republican lawmakers — even as President Donald Trump has previously signaled contentment with leaving questions about abortion policy at the state level. Hawley and Cassidy both questioned the safety of chemical abortions and their proliferation. Notably, Republicans passed a short-term prohibition of Medicaid funding from going to nonprofit organizations that provide abortions as part of its One, Big Beautiful Bill Act that became law earlier this year. But that change hasn’t stopped Hawley and other lawmakers from torching the FDA for announcing a partnership with Evita Solutions, looking to create a new version of the key abortion drug, mifepristone. "When I heard the FDA approved another generic form of misoprostol, I was upset," Sen. Cassidy said, referring to the drug often used in conjunction with mifepristone. "I call them up, ‘Why are you doing this?’" Cassidy joined 17 other Republican senators in sending a letter to the FDA earlier this month, demanding to know why the agency had approved a new form of the abortion drug. They asked for an answer by Oct. 30. Cassidy said th…