“Before I was born the Lord called me; from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.” Isaiah 49:1
Alaska Family Council joined dozens of other pro-life policy groups recently in urging President Trump and FDA Commissioner nominee Dr. Heidi Overton to restore safeguards regarding Mifepristone, the abortion drug responsible for the majority of pre-born deaths in our nation.
JOINT STATEMENT
Pro-Life Leaders Call on FDA to Restore Mifepristone Safeguards
Organizations and leaders call on FDA Commissioner nominee Dr. Heidi Overton to reverse Biden-era mifepristone policies while the FDA completes its ongoing review.
We, the undersigned organizations and individuals, call on FDA Commissioner nominee Dr. Heidi Overton to commit to restoring the safeguards governing mifepristone that existed before the Biden administration while the FDA completes its ongoing review of the drug.
Dr. Overton’s confirmation hearing provides an important opportunity for her to make clear what she plans to do about the FDA’s extremely permissive policy governing mifepristone.
There are good reasons the FDA policy should not be this permissive.
First, there are serious concerns about the safety of the drug. As just one example, a recent study found that nearly 11% of women taking mifepristone have a serious “adverse event” within 45 days of taking it.
Second, the permissiveness of the current policy is increasing the risk of abuse, especially by men who seek to force women to have abortions without their consent or knowledge. By allowing mifepristone to be obtained without an in-person medical visit, the current FDA policy makes it more difficult to screen vulnerable women outside the presence of potential abusers.
Third, mail-order abortion is undermining state laws enacted to protect unborn life and women.
Despite the enactment of new pro-life laws in approximately 20 states since the overturning of Roe v.Wade, abortion numbers nationwide are still increasing. The Biden administration removed the in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone and allowed pharmacies to dispense the drug. Abortion drugs are now being mailed from pro-abortion states into pro-life states, as well as being sent to the United States from overseas.
Shield laws protecting abortionists are facilitating approximately 14,770 abortions in states with pro-life laws each month, meaning that around 177,240 lives could be saved annually in pro-life states if their laws were respected. State governments attempting to protect life are being undermined by abortion drugs mailed in from outside their borders.
The FDA is central to this system because it is the federal agency responsible for the approval and protocol governing mifepristone, the most common drug used to kill children in the womb and the only drug designed with abortion as its primary purpose.
We are told that the FDA is conducting an ongoing study of mifepristone. However, that study has supposedly been ongoing for nearly two years.
The question is straightforward: Will Dr. Overton at least agree to revert to the policy in place before the Biden administration, a policy that provided at least some minimal safeguards and medical oversight for women until that elusive review is complete?
All of this is happening on President Trump’s watch, despite major advances in recent years in the pro-life movement, not the least of which was the overturning of Roe v. Wade. The Trump FDA continues to abide by a Biden-era regimen allowing mifepristone to be dispensed through the mail without a physical exam, proper testing, or the guarantee of being able to screen vulnerable women outside the presence of potential abusers.
Questions That Should Be Answered
At her confirmation hearing, Dr. Overton should be asked:
Will she immediately restore the safeguards that existed before the Biden administration while the FDA completes its review of mifepristone?
Will she decisively end the Biden-era protocol for mifepristone rather than continue allowing this dangerous drug to be dispensed under the current regimen?
Will she investigate the adverse events associated with mifepristone and ensure that FDA policy is based on a rigorous examination of the drug’s impact on women?
How will she address a mail-order-abortion system that enables abusers to obtain abortion drugs and use them against women without their knowledge or consent?
How will the FDA address the interstate distribution of mifepristone that is undermining the laws of states seeking to protect unborn life and women?
American mothers and babies need an FDA that defends them both in word and deed.
We therefore call on Dr. Heidi Overton and the Trump administration to restore meaningful safeguards for mifepristone immediately while the FDA completes its review, and to end policies that have enabled abortion drugs to be distributed through the mail without adequate medical oversight.
We urge Dr. Overton and the Trump administration to be the defenders that American families need.
Sincerely,
Nick Adolphsen
Executive Director
Christian Civic League of Maine
Eva Andrade
President & CEO
Hawaii Family Forum
Aaron Baer
President
Center for Christian Virtue
David Barton
Founder
WallBuilders
Tim Barton
President
WallBuilders
Tim Chapman
President
Advancing American Freedom
Victoria Cobb
President
The Family Foundation of Virginia
Audrea Decker
Executive Director
Pro-Family Legislative Network
Daniel Degner
President
Wisconsin Family Council
Kent DelHousaye
President
Family Action Council of Tennessee
Craig DeRoche
President & CEO
Family Policy Alliance
Charles A. Donovan
Co-President
Science Alliance for Life and Technology (SALT)
Katy Faust
Founder & President
Them Before Us
Dr. Ronnie Floyd
Former President
Southern Baptist Convention
Michael Geer
President & CEO
Pennsylvania Family Council
Peter Gentala
President
Center for Arizona Policy
Nate Grasz
Executive Director
Nebraska Family Alliance
Kristi Hamrick
Vice President of Media & Policy
Students for Life Action
Kristan Hawkins
President
Students for Life of America
Students for Life Action
Jodi Hendricks
Executive Director
New Mexico Family Action Movement
Pastor Jack Hibbs
President
Real Life Network
Brittany Jones
President
Kansas Family Voice
Mark Jorritsma
Executive Director
North Dakota Family Alliance
Jonathan Keller
President & CEO
California Family Council
Michael King
President
Massachusetts Family Institute
Dr. Brick Lantz, M.D., M.A.
Vice President of Advocacy and Bioethics
Christian Medical & Dental Associations
Dr. Evan Lenow
President
Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the
Southern Baptist Convention
Jason McGuire
Executive Director
New York Families Action
Eric Metaxas
Bestselling author
Nationally Syndicated Radio Host
Gene Mills
President
Louisiana Family Forum
Jim Minnery
President
Alaska Family Action
Cole Muzio
President
Frontline Policy Action
Tony Perkins
President
Family Research Council
Steve Pettit
President
Palmetto Family Council
David Prentice, Ph.D.
President
Science Alliance for Life and Technology (SALT)
Jason Rapert
Founder & President
National Association of Christian Lawmakers
Pastor Steve Riggle
U.S. Pastors Council
Lila Rose
President & Founder
Live Action
John L. Rustin
President
NC Family Policy Council
Jonathan Saenz
President
Texas Values
Stephanie Smith
President & CEO
Alabama Policy Institute
Mathew D. Staver, Esq.
Founder & Chairman
Liberty Counsel
John Stemberger
President
Liberty Counsel Action
Jeff Trimbath
President
Maryland Family Institute
Bob Vander Plaats
President and CEO
The Family Leader
David Walls
Executive Director
Family Foundation of Kentucky
Tim Wildmon
President
American Family Association
American Family Radio
Nathan Winters
President & CEO
Wyoming Family Alliance
Norman Woods
Director
South Dakota Family Voice
Allan Wright
Executive Director
New Jersey Family Policy Center