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FDA Slow Walking a Long-Awaited Abortion Pill Safety Study
Bloomberg - Gift LinkThe Food and Drug Administration has delayed a promised review of safety data for the abortion drug mifepristone at Commissioner Marty Makary’s request to put it off until after the midterm elections, according to people familiar with the matter.
Makary and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have told lawmakers and state attorneys general for months that they are actively conducting a review of mifepristone. But behind the scenes, Makary has told agency officials to delay the safety review, people familiar with the discussions said.
“Assertions that the FDA is slow walking this review for political purposes are baseless,” HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said. “FDA’s comprehensive scientific reviews take the time necessary to get the science right.”
Pushing the closely watched abortion pill study beyond next year’s midterms has the potential to help minimize the role of abortion in the upcoming elections, in which some Republicans are facing tough battles to hold onto their seats. Abortion restrictions popular with the right-wing base don’t necessarily poll well with all voters. A 2024 Pew survey found majorities of moderate or liberal Republicans say abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
Still, a group of Republican lawmakers have been pressing forward with asking health agencies to conduct an abortion pill safety study — despite the fact that many leading medical organizations have long deemed the drug safe. Their goal is to roll back Biden-era policies that made the abortion pill available without an in-person doctor’s visit.
Makary and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have told lawmakers and state attorneys general for months that they are actively conducting a review of mifepristone. But behind the scenes, Makary has told agency officials to delay the safety review, people familiar with the discussions said.
“Assertions that the FDA is slow walking this review for political purposes are baseless,” HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said. “FDA’s comprehensive scientific reviews take the time necessary to get the science right.”
Pushing the closely watched abortion pill study beyond next year’s midterms has the potential to help minimize the role of abortion in the upcoming elections, in which some Republicans are facing tough battles to hold onto their seats. Abortion restrictions popular with the right-wing base don’t necessarily poll well with all voters. A 2024 Pew survey found majorities of moderate or liberal Republicans say abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
Still, a group of Republican lawmakers have been pressing forward with asking health agencies to conduct an abortion pill safety study — despite the fact that many leading medical organizations have long deemed the drug safe. Their goal is to roll back Biden-era policies that made the abortion pill available without an in-person doctor’s visit.
The best reading of this article: Trump is going to use FDA to restrict medication abortion, but he wants to wait until after the midterms so the Republicans don't experience blowback. But that just makes the midterms more important. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
— Sam Bagenstos (@sbagen.bsky.social) 2025-12-08T23:20:42.773Z