 Health Care |
Health Care |
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Conservatives press Trump: where's mifepristone review? |
Anti-abortion voices are growing increasingly impatient for the Trump administration to complete a review of the abortion pill mifepristone, which would likely alter its approval. But changing abortion access at the federal level could imperil an already vulnerable GOP in the upcoming midterms. |
President Trump repeatedly pledged during the campaign last year that he would leave abortion policy to the states, but anti-abortion advocates and lawmakers have been pushing him to go further and sharply restrict the availability of mifepristone.
So far, that hasn't happened, and patience is wearing thin.
A letter sent to a group of GOP state attorneys general in September confirmed that the FDA was reviewing evidence about the safety of mifepristone to investigate how it can be safely dispensed.
The disclosure garnered some cautious optimism on the right, as lawmakers and activists said they hoped the FDA would soon act to roll back regulatory changes that made mifepristone easier to access.
Yet the review hasn't been completed, and recent reporting suggests the agency has been slow-walking it out of political concerns.
In response, the anti-abortion powerhouse Susan B. Anthony (SBA) Pro-Life America called for FDA Commissioner Marty Makary to be fired.
SBA previously led letter-writing campaigns that resulted in more than 220 members of Congress urging the FDA to end telemedicine access to mifepristone.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, doubled down on calls to complete the review as well as for information about the approval of a second generic version of the drug.
"The American people deserve to know why HHS and FDA continue to ignore their responsibility to safeguard mothers and unborn children from this harmful drug," he said earlier this month.
Restricting access to the drug nationwide was a key goal in Project 2025, and anti-abortion groups are furious that mifepristone's continued availability through telemedicine and states with shield laws has helped keep abortion accessible after the end of Roe v. Wade.
But President Trump's approval ratings have sunk to record lows, and rolling back abortion access is politically unpopular.
Trump isn't going to be on the ballot again, and doesn't necessarily need the support of the anti-abortion movement. While conservative lawmakers may be agitating for more action, control of the House is likely to hinge on swing state Republicans— who are likely fine without the White House wading into abortion. |
Welcome to The Hill's Health Care newsletter, we're Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health. |
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| How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond: |
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The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the nation's largest professional organization of doctors who treat children, said Wednesday it is suing the Trump administration after the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) abruptly terminated nearly $12 million in federal grants to the group. The organization says seven longstanding grants were cut in retaliation for its outspoken opposition to HHS Secretary Robert F. … |
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Explosions and fire at a nursing home outside Philadelphia killed at least two people, local and state officials said Tuesday. "We believe preliminarily that it was a gas leak that led to that. The explosion was really quite catastrophic. We know that at this time, there are at least two fatalities. We know that there are some number of individuals still missing," Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) said at a press conference … |
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A coalition of 19 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia late Tuesday sued the Trump administration, arguing a declaration from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. rejecting gender-affirming care for transgender minors was an overreach of his authority. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Oregon, claims Kennedy and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) attempted to … |
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Branch out with a different read: |
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Trump's marijuana order throws lifeline to hemp industry |
President Trump threw the hemp industry a lifeline with his order to speed up marijuana rescheduling and launch Medicare coverage of CBD, giving more strength to a significant lobbying fight that looms in the year ahead. The hemp industry has been on its back foot since November, when a provision passed through the government funding bill to close a loophole that allowed hemp-derived … |
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Local and state headlines on health care: |
- Measles outbreak continues to grow in South Carolina, DPH says (WLTX)
- Where Alabama Medicaid enrollees get contraceptives (Alabama Reflector)
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Health news we've flagged from other outlets: |
- Major pharma companies may avoid Medicare experiments' forced price cuts (Stat)
- It's the 'gold standard' in autism care. Why are states reining it in? (KFF Health News)
- Congolese rape survivors search in vain for medicine after USAID cuts (Washington Post)
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Opinions related to health submitted to The Hill: |
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You're all caught up. See you next week! |
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