WASHINGTON—The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today significantly weakened longstanding safety protocols for dangerous chemical abortion pills that have been in place for more than 20 years.

Melanie Israel, policy analyst in Heritage’s DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society, released the following statement Thursday on the implications of this action:

“The Biden administration’s decision is a surrender to the abortion industry’s demands and comes at the expense of women’s health and safety. Today’s action makes dangerous abortion pills widely available through telemedicine and by mail, despite a decades-long track record of these drugs seriously harming women.”

 

“Since 2000, these pills have been associated with the deaths of 26 women and thousands of serious adverse effects in patients. Congress and state policymakers must counteract the FDA’s decision, protecting life and women’s health with new policies that prohibit telemedicine abortions, strengthen informed-consent requirements, and ensure stronger reporting requirements to better track complications.”

For more on this issue, read Israel’s comprehensive report on chemical abortion.