Access to abortion medication could be in jeopardy, RFK Jr. testimony suggests

by Shefali Luthra, The 19th and Barbara Rodriguez, The 19th, Louisiana Illuminator
January 30, 2025

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suggested he is open to significantly limiting access to mifepristone if confirmed to head the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), citing “safety issues” to a drug that is used in most abortions and that research has shown is very safe and effective.

Kennedy’s remarks, during the first of two Senate hearings that are part of the confirmation process, came in response to questioning from two Republicans who oppose abortion: James Lankford of Oklahoma and Steve Daines of Montana.

“President [Donald] Trump has asked me to study the safety of mifepristone,” Kennedy said at Wednesday’s hearing before the Senate’s Committee on Finance, which shares jurisdiction over HHS with the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. “He has not yet taken a stand on how to regulate it. Whatever he does, I will implement those policies.”

Such a review — one of Kennedy’s clearest public statements on abortion since being nominated to head the federal health department — suggests a lockstep alignment with President Trump that could have sweeping implications, including the imposition of national restrictions on a major method of abortion despite Trump’s campaign promises to leave the issue in the hands of state governments.

Mifepristone has been heavily studied and the data is unequivocal in showing its safety and effectiveness in terminating pregnancies. The drug is taken in conjunction with misoprostol, a two-medication regimen that constitutes the majority of abortions in the country. About one in five of all abortions are initiated over telehealth, with health care providers prescribing and mailing the pills to patients — including, in some cases, patients who live in states where abortion is banned.

The two-drug regimen is recommended by major international bodies because of its safety and effectiveness, including the World Health Organization. Still, abortion opponents have targeted mifepristone as part of their campaign to further reduce access to the procedure.

Anti-abortion state lawmakers across the country have introduced bills intended to weaken access to mifepristone, even in states where abortion is already banned. Many have targeted telehealth in particular, given its role in helping people circumvent state bans.

In 2023, a group of abortion opponents filed a lawsuit seeking to remove mifepristone from the market altogether, calling on the courts either to reverse the Food and Drug Administration’s 2000 approval of the drug or rescind more recent moves to expand its availability. One such way was to undo the agency’s decision to allow mifepristone to be provided over telehealth. The Supreme Court dismissed that case, suggesting that the plaintiffs did not show they had grounds to sue. Anti-abortion state lawmakers in Idaho, Kansas and Missouri have made similar legal claims and are currently asking a federal court in Texas to revoke the FDA’s approval allowing mifepristone to be prescribed through telehealth.

In their arguments, abortion opponents have falsely claimed that mifepristone is unsafe. The studies they referenced — which were also cited by the Texas-based federal judge who heard the case — have been retracted by scientific publishers because of flawed methodology. Kennedy’s suggestion that mifepristone’s safety should be further studied offers a sign that his HHS may be open to curbing access to the drug.

At one point during the hearing, Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire challenged Kennedy on the notion that mifepristone might be unsafe. She lifted a stack of papers, which were later submitted into the record, and said they represented several dozens of studies on its safety.

“The studies are there, the safety is proved, the science is there,” she said.

Trump has avoided clarifying how he will approach abortion policy — including mifepristone’s approval — and some Republican lawmakers have scaled back their ambitions of enacting national restrictions. His nomination of Kennedy, a former Democrat, sparked concern among some abortion opponents, notably former Vice President Mike Pence.

Kennedy’s remarks raised concerns from lawmakers who support abortion rights.

“The answers you have given tell me the Trump administration is more than willing to restrict or even ban medication abortion without a single act of Congress, even in states where abortion is legal,” said Democratic Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota. “What’s clear to me is that you and President Trump are dangerous to women’s access to mifepristone.”

Kennedy did not offer clear answers to other critical questions about abortion. One of the most notable referred to whether the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which requires most hospitals to provide patients with necessary stabilizing care in medical emergencies, meant that health care providers must provide abortions when they are necessary to save someone’s life and if that would preempt any state ban.

“I don’t know,” Kennedy said when asked that question by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat from Nevada. Kennedy also said he did not know what role he as head of the department would play in potentially enforcing EMTALA.

Leveraging EMTALA to protect abortions in medical emergencies was a critical component of President Joe Biden’s administration strategy on reproductive rights. HHS played a major role in those efforts.

Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com.