Missouri Senator Josh Hawley announced on Wednesday that he has introduced legislation that would ban Mifepristone, a drug commonly used for first-trimester abortion.
The Safeguarding Women from Chemical Abortion Act would revoke the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the drug. However, the path forward for the legislation was not clear, as President Donald Trump indicated as a candidate for president in 2024 that he would veto a national abortion ban if one reached his desk. Abortion restrictions have failed to gain traction in Congress since the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, which overturned its previous precedent that held abortion as a constitutional right.
“We’ve known for years that Mifepristone is risky, but it’s really just in the last few years that we’ve learned this drug is inherently dangerous, and it’s inherently prone to abuse,” Hawley said.
FDA officials pledged Mifepristone would undergo a safety review. However, the status and timeline of the FDA’s review is unclear. The FDA also recently approved a new generic form of the drug.
Mifepristone, the first of two drugs used in a medication-based abortion, was approved by the FDA in 2000, and gained the moniker “the abortion pill.” Medication abortions, sometimes called chemical abortions, account for the majority of abortions in the U.S., according to multiple studies.