The American people deserve the thorough report on abortion drug safety that the FDA has promised for nearly two years, but the agency has again failed to deliver it. The FDA now says it won’t release its final study until March. That will be too late for nearly 90,000 unborn babies who will die between now and then by illegally obtained abortion drugs in states like Louisiana that have taken great care to protect babies and mothers from the harms of abortion.
But even then, the lengthy regulatory work that will be required after the study concludes could push any potential solution to the next administration. Not only is that unacceptable, but it’s also beside the point. The release of a study does nothing to correct the unlawfulness of the FDA’s 2023 decision, which three 5th Circuit panels, two district court judges, and now DOJ leadership itself have all concluded was ‘wrong.’
Meanwhile, every month of additional delay puts nearly 15,000 additional babies at risk in states where mail-order abortion drugs are unlawful—1,000 in Louisiana alone—and more women like Rosalie, Catherine, and Elizabeth at risk of being coerced or tricked into ingesting these life-ending drugs. Nobody disputes that. And the FDA can easily end that today, even while its study continues, by entering into a consent decree with Louisiana to vacate the 2023 REMS.
Indeed, mail-order abortions don’t empower women—they facilitate the abuse, coercion, and poisoning of women by making high-risk drugs accessible to bad actors at the click of a button. The FDA knows the right thing is to restore the in-person dispensing requirement. In fact, a new peer-reviewed article was just released detailing that the agency lacked evidence to justify removing this basic safety requirement.
Life is the first and most basic human right, and states have the right to protect it. The administration should set politics aside and respect states’ interest in protecting life, act now to restore abortion drugs’ minimum safety requirements, and settle ADF’s and Louisiana’s lawsuit.
