Cassidy presses FDA to put limits on abortion pills
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) in the Capitol on January 8. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
The chairman of the Senate health committee touched off a new fight over abortion pills on Wednesday, calling on the Trump administration to immediately reinstate in-person dispensing requirements for the widely used drug mifepristone.
Why it matters: The comments from Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and other GOP senators at a hearing intensify pressure on the administration to tighten abortion access in an election year.
- The specific goal is to address the widespread availability of the pills through telehealth.
Driving the news: Cassidy called on Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Food and Drug Administration commissioner Marty Makary to complete a safety review of mifepristone that they both promised during their confirmation hearings.
- "Republican members of this committee and many other senators expect an answer," Cassidy said. "At an absolute minimum, the previous in person safeguards should be restored and it should be done immediately."
- Changing dispensing rules would roll back a pandemic-era regulation the Biden administration made and effectively cut off teleprescribing and mailing of the drugs.
Democrats assailed the hearing as a sham aimed at discrediting the pills and accused Republicans of trying to use safety concerns to ban abortion nationwide.
- "This hearing is not about the actual science or the facts and it's certainly not about what is best for women's health," said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.).
- The American Medical Association says mifepristone, which the FDA first approved in 2000, is "exceedingly safe and effective."
HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said the FDA is conducting a safety review.
- "The FDA's scientific review process is thorough and takes the time necessary to ensure decisions are grounded in gold-standard science," he said. "Dr. Makary is upholding that standard as part of the Department's commitment to rigorous, evidence-based review."
- Cassidy said during the hearing that he hopes to have Makary testify "very soon" about the status of the review.
- Another GOP senator, Jim Banks of Indiana, questioned whether the agency is slow-walking the process, adding, "I really hope that that's not the case."
