President Trump should reverse the Biden kill pill policy
Last week marked the third anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark Dobbs decision, which overturned the infamous Roe v Wade ruling of 1973. For nearly 50 years, Roe imposed abortion on demand through the entirety of pregnancy, bypassing the democratic process and silencing the will of the people in all 50 states.
Contrary to the Left’s narrative, Dobbs did not ban abortion. It returned the authority to regulate abortion to the people and their elected representatives. As a result, 41 states have enacted laws offering varying degrees of protection for the unborn. Thirteen of those states have adopted strong pro-life protections that affirm the sanctity of human life.
And yet, despite these significant policy gains, abortion rates have actually risen since Dobbs. Yes, risen. While abortion advocates continue to claim that women have lost access, the abortion industry’s own numbers tell a very different story.
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According to the Guttmacher Institute, formerly the research arm of Planned Parenthood, abortions have increased by 12% since 2020, climbing from 930,000 to over one million in each of the past two years.
What’s driving this surge? The kill pill.
Today, chemical abortions make up more than 63% of all abortions in the United States. That number continues to rise thanks to a Biden-era policy that remains in effect, which basically nullifies pro-life laws of many states.
In April of 2021, under the guise of COVID, the Biden FDA removed longstanding safety protocols for mifepristone, including the requirement that a woman had to see a medical provider before receiving the drug. These safeguards had been in place for over two decades to detect life-threatening conditions like ectopic pregnancy and to ensure informed consent.
But the Biden administration didn’t stop there. After Dobbs, in homage to the abortion industry. The Biden administration directed the Department of Justice to issue a legally flawed opinion, stating that the Comstock Act, a federal law banning the mailing of items intended to be used in an abortion, does not apply to the abortion pill. This unprecedented interpretation opened the floodgates. Today, an estimated 8,000 or more abortion pills are mailed each month to states that have enacted pro-life laws.
The consequences are dangerous. A study of insurance data found that nearly 11% of women who took the abortion pill experienced serious complications requiring emergency room treatment.
And there are other harms. In Louisiana, a mother and a New York doctor were indicted for illegally obtaining abortion pills from the New York doctor and administering them to her underage daughter. New York has refused to extradite the doctor.
A separate study reveals even widespread harm from the abortion pill. Tons of aborted fetal remains in pharmaceutical waste from abortion pills are entering and contaminating U.S. waterways each year, including drinking water, threatening both public health and environmental safety.
Unless the Trump administration reverses this reckless Biden-era policy and conducts a full safety review of mifepristone, pro-life laws will remain largely symbolic. Lives will remain at risk, including the unborn, their mothers, and our broader society.
Without action, the hard-won victory of Dobbs will be rendered meaningless. The Trump administration must end these Biden-era policies to stand with us for life.
Tony Perkins is president of Family Research Council and executive editor of The Washington Stand.
