WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), chair of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released a statement after Senate Democrats blocked his and U.S. Senator Ashley Moody's (R-FL) Pregnant Students' Rights Act, which empowers pregnant women with resources to continue their college career.

Cassidy delivered a floor speech before the vote discussing his Pro-Life values.

"When Democrats talk about being "pro-choice," is the choice they're talking about forcing women to choose between a child and an education," said Dr. Cassidy. "Republicans want to empower moms to be able to pursue an education!"

"It is troubling that Democrats refuse to support pregnant women pursing higher education," continued Dr. Cassidy.

Click here to watch Cassidy's full floor speech.

Cassidy's speech as prepared for delivery can be found below:

This past Friday, thousands of Americans, young and old, marched to peacefully call attention to the sanctity and inherent value of every single life.

Their advocacy and passion drive our work on Capitol Hill to protect women and unborn children.

M. President, the science is clear. A child's life begins in the womb.

Abortion ends that life.

Scientifically and morally, there is no difference in the value of a child whether she is in her mother's arms or her mother's womb.

I'm a doctor, and if the first rule is do no harm, chemical abortion drugs have the potential to do a lot of harm to the mother, and certainly to the unborn child.

That's why, as Chair of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, I decided to focus our first hearing of 2026 on the dangers of the chemical abortion drug, mifepristone. Women, families, and unborn children deserve nothing less.

I want to thank Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill and Dr. Monique Wubbenhorst for sharing the real-life impact abortion drugs are having on women and their unborn children.

Their testimonies confirmed the need to restore the previous in-person dispensing requirements that the Biden administration recklessly removed.

Chemical abortion drugs are not safe, run-of-the mill drugs. You shouldn't be able to order them without undergoing a proper medical examination and screening for coercion.

One study showed that 9 in 10 women who take a chemical abortion drug describe their pain as moderate to severe. And half of women say the experience was worse than expected. Another study found that one in ten women undergoing mifepristone-induced abortions experienced serious adverse events, including hemorrhaging, sepsis, or infection.

This is not just about statistics. It is about real women with real stories.

Without the in-person dispensing requirement, pregnant women all over the country, including in my home state of Louisiana, are at risk of being coerced into getting an abortion against their will.

Attorney General Murrill testified about a 16-year-old girl from Louisiana who, instead of celebrating her baby at a gender-reveal party, ended up in the emergency room after her mother forced her to take the abortion pill. A pill that her mother ordered online from a doctor in New York in violation of Louisiana law. This should have never happened. And it wouldn't have happened if we required proper in-person medical evaluations. This girl was never seen by a doctor or asked if she wanted to abort her baby. It's tragic.

Pregnant women in Louisiana and across the country are receiving these drugs through the mail, often from an out-of-state doctor who never sees them in person, and who never performs an ultrasound to confirm the stage of the pregnancy. This is reckless. These abortion drugs are only approved to be taken within the first 10 weeks of a pregnancy. And FDA has not reviewed the safety risks of taking these drugs past that point.

As my colleague and former OB, Dr. Marshall, pointed out in our HELP hearing, many women don't know exactly how far along their pregnancy is. They may not know that their baby already has a heartbeat and could live outside the womb. This is why an in-person visit with a doctor is so important.

In some instances, these drugs are being mailed in from outside of the United States - we don't know what is in them, they are not labeled in compliance with FDA guidelines, and there is no patient-doctor relationship where a woman could seek needed follow-up care for serious adverse events she may experience.

Let's be clear - if the chemical abortion drug was any other medication coming from an unknown country, with unknown ingredients, being prescribed by an out-of-state doctor, without seeing the patient, being taken off-label, not in line with FDA guidelines, and sometimes against the patient's will, there would be bipartisan outrage. Why is this drug any different?

How did we get here, to the point that abortion pills can be ordered online, mailed, and taken with no medical supervision or safeguards against coercion?

Think of the girls and women in abusive relationships or who are being trafficked whose voices have been silenced.

I was just in an airplane bathroom, and thanks to the bipartisan Human Trafficking Prevention Act, they had a sign there - call this number if you're being trafficked. We put it in the bathroom of an airplane, but we don't take the opportunity to interview a young woman in a doctor's office before giving her an abortion drug. Think about that.

How have we done such a disservice to women regarding the truth about chemical abortion?

As Chairman of the HELP Committee, I urge Secretary Kennedy and Commissioner Makary to complete the review of mifepristone that they both promised us during their confirmation hearings. Republican Members of my Committee and many other Senators expect an answer. At an absolute minimum, the previous in-person safeguards must be restored immediately.

And by the way, it's not just Republicans saying this. A recent poll found that 71 percent of Americans, including 67 percent of those who identify as pro-choice, support requiring a doctor's visit for the chemical abortion drug to be prescribed.

We should be supporting women with the resources they need to have a happy and healthy pregnancy.

Later today, we will be voting on the Pregnant Students' Rights Act, a pro-family, pro-life bill that empowers pregnant women with the resources they need on college campuses.

When Democrats talk about being "pro-choice," is the choice they're talking about forcing women to choose between a child and an education? Republicans want to empower moms to be able to pursue an education! I'm proud to co-sponsor this legislation, and I thank Senator Moody for her leadership and collaboration.

Every child is a gift and has inherent value and worth.

###

For all news and updates from HELP Republicans, visit our website or Twitter at @GOPHELP.