News broke this week that the long-awaited FDA review of the deadly chemical abortion drug Mifepristone may not be finished until March of 2027.
Many in the pro-life movement, myself included, are upset, rightfully so, as that means that, for the time, there will be no new restrictions on the use or distribution of the deadly drug. Babies will continue to be killed via mail order abortion until a change is made.
All of us want babies to be protected right now.
We can and should be upset when lifesaving policy changes are delayed.
We know the facts in this case are clear. The abortion drug is deadly for babies and mothers. Around 11% of women who take the deadly drug end up hospitalized with serious adverse conditions. The mail order distribution does not screen for ectopic pregnancies or other conditions which can kill the mother. Anyone who is willing to look at this drug and its current FDA protocol in an honest pursuit of truth will come to the conclusion that it is very dangerous. Every day of delay is another day of innocent babies dying.
Yet despite my frustration, I want to explain why I remain cautiously optimistic about the eventual results of this review, and what I think may be happening here.
After the Dobbs decision, some political strategists in the GOP have treated abortion as something of a radioactive issue. If you remember, the Dobbs decision was leaked in May of 2022 and officially released in June. This came at the halfway point of the Biden administration in an election cycle that the Democrats were expected to lose handily. The President’s party historically loses midterm elections, and there was talk of a red tsunami incoming.
The Dobbs decision introduced a new dynamic to the equation as it predictably enraged Democrat voters. There was chaos within the Republican party as pro-life candidates in tight races scrambled to establish their campaign messaging. Some took the opportunity to call for nationwide abortion bans; others attempted to distance themselves entirely from the pro-life cause. The pro-life message was not unified in the wake of Dobbs, whereas the pro-abortion side had just been delivered a massive mobilization campaign on a silver platter.
What was supposed to be a red tsunami was more of a red splash.
Even President Trump, who had up until that point spoken very favorably of the pro-life movement, blamed the principled pro-life position for the poor result. Trump said, “It wasn’t my fault that the Republicans didn’t live up to expectations in the midterms, it was the ‘abortion issue,’ poorly handled by many Republicans, especially those that firmly insisted on No Exceptions, even in the case of rape, incest or life of the mother, that lost large numbers of voters.”
Where the President went, many in the party followed. It was not-so-subtly accepted that the pro-life victory in Dobbs was what cost the Republican party their tsunami win.
The President was right in a sense; things could have been handled better, but hindsight is always 20/20. Planned Parenthood and the abortion advocates had spent many years preparing for a post Roe world and hit the ground running. The 2022 midterm cycle was a perfect storm for some Republican strategists to be weary of the pro-life cause.
I bring this up in context because politics is a tricky dance. Administrations and political parties are always playing a very complicated game of chess. If we interpret their motives generously, they are trying to balance doing good in the moment and doing good in the future. Every action has a reaction and if they do something good today which causes them to lose power tomorrow, then they can do no good tomorrow.
IF the administration believes that the FDA review will result in significant restrictions on the abortion pill, it stands to reason that they would slow walk the official decision until AFTER the midterms.
The 2022 cycle was literally the most recent midterm election. Strategists are going to do everything that they can to avoid the same situation as last time.
As I had said many times, I disagree with this hyper-pragmatic strategy when it comes to saving lives. I believe when given the opportunity to do good today, we ought not delay. It is easy to rationalize ourselves into perpetual inaction while allowing babies to be killed under the excuse of “strategy.” That is why I, like so many others, am very frustrated when I see these delays.
With that said, it is possible that by delaying the result FDA is showing their hand.
Why would they wait unless they fear the results would harm Republicans in the midterms? A March 2027 delivery lands in a bit of a political dead space. The midterms will be over, and the 2028 presidential race will only be in the earliest stage of infancy.
A March delivery could also serve to decouple the issue from the political framing. For this review to stick, it should come across as purely scientific, not partisan. When things happen during election cycles, they become part of the political binary.
In addition, the longer a review goes on, the more legitimate it sounds. If the FDA announces that Mifepristone is too deadly for the current protocol, they would be wise to lean heavily on their rigorous scientific review. The talking points will no doubt revolve around the long and arduous process of ensuring public safety with a best-in-class scientific process.
I want to be clear that there is value in keeping pressure on the FDA. It is very possible that some may intend to slow walk this review to death. If that is the case, public pressure may be the only thing keeping the review alive.
Only time will tell what happens with the FDA review. I remain cautiously optimistic and ask you to join me in prayer that the FDA does the right thing and protects babies.
Regardless of what the review finds about abortion pill safety for mothers, we know the abortion pill is deadly for children. Even if the FDA erroneously claims the pill is safe for women, we know the danger posed to the children is a more than sufficient reason to outlaw it. No matter what the result is, we will fight until we have made the act of abortion unthinkable and illegal. Babies deserve as much.
Defending Life,
Victor Nieves
President, Life Issues Institute
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