ICYMI: Senate Republicans Demand Baseless New Restrictions on Medication Abortion Amid Government Shutdown
Extremist lawmakers seek to weaponize federal agencies to ban abortion nationwide
WASHINGTON, DC –– Yesterday, nearly every Senate Republican urged the FDA to require the safe and effective abortion medication to be distributed in person, banning the use of telehealth and to suspend approval of all mifepristone generics. These 51 Republicans in the Senate expressed their opposition to the most common method of abortion by signing onto a letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy and FDA Commissioner Martin Makary. The letter came just one week after the FDA approved the use of a generic mifepristone.
As the Republican government shutdown stretches into another day and millions of Americans’ health care hangs in the balance, anti-abortion extremists remain committed to furthering their attacks on reproductive freedom and stripping health care from women and families across the country.
In response to Senate Republicans' letter, providers, patients, and advocates from across the country released statements spotlighting what is at stake as attacks on reproductive freedom escalate.
“Let’s be clear – Trump and Republicans’ attacks on mifepristone are a national abortion test. Extremists are so committed to banning medication abortion, that even a national crisis won’t derail their dangerous agenda,” said Veronica Ingham, Senior Campaigns Director for Free & Just. “Medication abortion is safe, effective, and accounts for 60% of abortions in America. It’s time for lawmakers to invest their energy into protecting our health care, not stripping us of our rights to appease an extreme minority.”
“When I was 20 weeks pregnant, my son was diagnosed with bilateral renal agenesis, meaning my baby would die in utero, or within hours after birth. Ending my pregnancy through induction was the most humane option for me in my situation. To safely induce labor at 23 weeks, I needed abortion medication,” said Megan Kling from Taylor, Wisconsin. “Women across this country experience pregnancy complications everyday. You cannot restrict abortion medication without negatively impacting maternal health care. Women deserve access to the best standard of care that science and medicine has to offer. Making abortion medication more difficult to access is cruel. It increases risks to the mothers health and adds to the trauma of pregnancy loss for grieving parents like me. Anti-abortion politicians in DC need to mind their own business and keep politics out of our doctor’s offices.”
“As an OBGYN who knows just how safe and effective mifepristone is, and as a patient myself, I am outraged at the relentless attacks on our care,” said Dr. Austin Dennard, a board certified OBGYN based in Dallas, Texas. “I am sick of ill-informed politicians trying to make decisions on behalf of patients and the doctors who care for them. These attacks make my job harder, and punish vulnerable women and families seeking care. Enough is enough.”
“I have no regrets about my decision to have an abortion, and every single day, I am grateful that I had access to the medication I needed,” said Marissa “Sunni” Rudd from Brooklyn, New York. “The lies and disinformation that extremists are peddling about medication abortion are dangerous and harmful to families like mine. It is unacceptable that these lawmakers would go after our medications during a government shutdown that could leave millions of Americans without health care.”
“Mifepristone is a medication that has been evaluated by the FDA, and received FDA approval for being safe and effective. Its use in miscarriage care and life threatening pregnancies, such as ectopic pregnancies, results in fewer complications than surgical alternatives,” said Dr. Laurel Barr, an emergency medicine physician in Columbus, Ohio. “In appropriately selected patients who have discussed the risks, benefits, and alternatives with their doctor it is safe, effective, and lifesaving. It should be available and affordable in life threatening situations and its production should not be unduly restricted.”
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If you are interested in speaking with any of the storytellers quoted above, please contact kelly@freeandjust.us and malachi@freeandjust.us.
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Free & Just is fighting to stop attacks on reproductive freedom and rights. We’re working with people across the country to share real stories to show the devastating consequences of attacks on our reproductive freedom. We all deserve the right to control our bodies and lives. That’s why we’re sharing our stories, raising our voices, and fighting for our future.