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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. showed an openness to changing dispensing or safety reporting requirements for the widely used abortion pill mifepristone at his Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing Wednesday.
Why it matters: Antiabortion groups already are pressing the Trump administration to reverse policies that expanded the time frame in which mifepristone could be used and allowed it to be prescribed without an in-person visit.
What they're saying: Sens. James Lankford and Steve Daines both asked Kennedy about his willingness to look into the safety of mifepristone, which the FDA originally approved in 2000 and has a long-established safety and efficacy record.
- Lankford asked if Kennedy would be willing to change how side effects are reported for mifepristone, and whether FDA will "move to actually give transparency to the American people and say this drug is no different than any other drug."
- Kennedy responded: "We need to know what adverse events are. We need to understand the safety of every drug, mifepristone and every other drug. President Trump has made it clear to me that one of the things he hasn't taken a detailed position on is mifepristone."
- "But he has made it clear to me that he wants to look at safety issues. And I'll ask NIH and FDA to do that."
Daines followed up by asking about policies around mifepristone, such as adverse event reporting and sending the pills through the mail.
- "Will you commit to working with the FDA commission review to look at the deregulatory actions that are threatening the safety of women?" Daines asked.
- Kennedy repeated his previous statements that he was serving under Trump and that he would implement his policies.
The other side: Sen. Maggie Hassan also pulled out signs that had past quotes from Kennedy declaring that he was "pro-choice" and that the government doesn't have any business telling women what to do with their bodies.
- Hassan asked Kennedy to affirm if he had made those past statements, and he did.
- She questioned whether Kennedy would follow Trump's orders without question despite his past statements supporting abortion rights.
- "Regardless of what values you have, if President Trump tells you to do something, you're going to do it.… [If he] orders you to take action to make it harder for women to get direly needed health care, you'll follow his order?" Hassan asked.
The bottom line: As a lifelong Democrat who previously had liberal views on abortion, Kennedy has to tred a fine line in order not to alienate uncommitted Republican senators.
