Families USA Statement for the Record for the Senate HELP’s Committee Hearing on Abortion Drugs

Families USA submitted a statement for the record for the January 14 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing, "Protecting Women: Exposing the Dangers of Chemical Abortion Drugs." In the statement, Families USA urges the Committee to maintain public trust in the FDA's gold-standard drug approval process amid ongoing attacks on the safety and efficacy of FDA-approved medication abortion drugs, including mifepristone.

The statement explains that the FDA approved mifepristone more than 25 years ago following an extensive 54-month review process, and that nearly four decades of peer-reviewed research conducted both before and after approval demonstrate that it is safe and effective. Mifepristone is the safest and most effective non-surgical method for terminating a pregnancy and has important clinical applications in the management of miscarriage. When used in combination with misoprostol, these medications account for the majority of abortions in the United States, including most procedures performed prior to 10 weeks of pregnancy.

Families USA further highlights research showing that mifepristone can be safely provided via telehealth, prescribed by qualified clinicians beyond physicians, and does not require burdensome or medically unnecessary restrictions. The statement concludes that questioning the safety of mifepristone contradicts decades of scientific evidence, undermines public trust in evidence-based policymaking, and threatens the role of government agencies charged with protecting public health. Families USA emphasizes that nearly 60 million women of reproductive age in the United States depend on the FDA and Congress to preserve access to safe and effective abortion care and urges the Committee to uphold the FDA's gold-standard approval process.