Senate Focuses on Highlighting Risks Associated with Abortion Pill

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The Senate is scheduled to hold a hearing on the dangers of the abortion pill next week. Led by Sen. Bill Cassidy, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, the hearing aims to expose the risks associated with mail-order abortion policies and calls for a safety study on the effects of mifepristone, the active drug used in medication abortions.

Titled “Protecting Women: Exposing the Dangers of Chemical Abortion Drugs”, the hearing will occur at 10:00 am in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Medication abortions, which are now the most common method of abortion, involve two drugs – mifepristone and misoprostol. Mifepristone causes the unborn child to lose access to essential nutrients, leading to its death. Misoprostol is then utilized to induce labor and expel the deceased fetus.

This hearing follows on recent contentious issues, including the approval of a new generic form of mifepristone by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the continuing allowance of mail-order abortion pills. These actions prompted over 51 senators to request a reversal from the FDA and a return to the in-person dispensing requirement.

Senator Cassidy, in conjunction with 16 other GOP senators, asked the FDA if it was aware of incidents where women were unknowingly given the drugs or coerced into taking them. Furthermore, data indicates that mail-order abortions have resulted in many illegal abortions in states such as Texas and Tennessee.