February 22, 2022 - MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) last Friday joined Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio) and more than 100 other lawmakers in writing to Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Robert Califf to condemn the FDA’s decision to permanently eliminate longstanding patient safeguards associated with the chemical abortion drug mifepristone, and to urge the FDA to rescind this decision.

“Removing the in-person dispensing requirements from the drug’s Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) and permitting mail-order dispensing of this drug will increase risks to women. This action recklessly ignores the clear data showing the dangers of chemical abortions and abandons FDA’s responsibility for ensuring safety of drugs,” the lawmakers wrote.

“In addition to the loss of the unborn child, chemical abortion drugs present serious risk to the health of the mother, including severe bleeding, infection, the need for surgical intervention, and even death. In fact, chemical abortions are four times more dangerous than surgical abortions. These health risks necessitate, at minimum, in-person screening by a physician,” the lawmakers continued.

“Make no mistake: the relaxation of these requirements will hasten a new regime of mail-order abortion, where women ingest these dangerous medications alone without any meaningful oversight from a doctor. Without physician involvement and the associated quick access to care in the case of adverse events, women are likely to face additional complications from these do-it-yourself chemical abortions,” concluded the lawmakers.

The letter is available here.
Source: Senator John Kennedy