Trump Administration OK of New Abortion Drug Infuriates the Right

The Trump administration has approved a new generic version of the mifepristone abortion pill — a decision by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week that has sparked uproar among anti-abortion leaders, Natalie Allison and Paige Winfield Cunningham reported for The Washington Post.

The department had been conducting a review of the safety of abortion pills of late — a move initially welcomed by anti-abortion activists. (Photo: Mifiprex DANCO) 

The recently announced approval comes less than two weeks after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Martin Makary said the department was conducting a review of the safety of abortion pills — a move initially welcomed by anti-abortion activists.

Now, those same activists are questioning the administration’s commitment to their cause, marking the first significant pushback Trump has faced from his otherwise loyal base of social conservatives.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said in a social media post about the decision that he has “lost confidence in the leadership at FDA.” Former Vice President Mike Pence called the decision “a complete betrayal of the pro-life movement that elected President Trump” and urged that Kennedy be fired.

“This is a wildly disappointing decision. We are extraordinarily disappointed,” said Kristi Hamrick, a spokeswoman for Students for Life of America, in an interview with The Washington Post.

“This has to be addressed.” Hamrick described the FDA’s approval as “the opposite of the gold standard review” that anti-abortion leaders believed the Trump administration was conducting into mifepristone.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, criticized how the administration handled the approval process, calling it “a total goat rodeo.”

She added that it would be “an easy lift” for the administration to restore restrictions on the drug’s distribution that were lifted by President Joe Biden during the coronavirus pandemic.

“‘Powerless’ is an adjective no one uses to describe this administration when facing trouble,” Dannenfelser said.