Americans would be hard-pressed to name a president in U.S. history who has taken a more radically anti-life stance on abortion than President Joe Biden – but even #46 can’t seem to appease the increasingly dangerous ideas of the abortion industry and the bloodthirsty lobby that supports it.
This week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) publicly spoke out against abortion providers that have prescribed the chemical abortion regimen to those who are not currently pregnant, in the event that they desire the drugs to abort a future pregnancy.
An FDA spokesperson told Politico, “The FDA is concerned about the advance prescribing of mifepristone for this use. Mifepristone is not approved for advance provision of medical abortion.” Mifepristone is the first drug of a chemical abortion, which blocks a mother’s flow of progesterone, thus starving the unborn child of nourishment until he or she dies. The second drug, misoprostol, then forces intense uterine contractions to expel the aborted baby from the womb.
The FDA web page for mifepristone now includes a warning label that reads, “You should not buy Mifeprex or its approved generic over the internet because you will bypass important safeguards designed to protect your health. … Also, drugs purchased from foreign Internet sources are not the FDA-approved versions of the drugs, and they are not subject to FDA-regulated manufacturing controls or FDA inspection of manufacturing facilities.”
The FDA’s discomfort comes in response to the growing media attention fixated on the trafficking of abortion drugs following the overturn of Roe v. Wade. The Washington Post recently highlighted the abortion pills being trafficked into the United States from locations like Mexico and India; online abortion dealer start-ups like Choix and Aid Access are directly advertising advance provision of abortion drugs for women who are not yet pregnant.
Though chemical abortions carry a significantly higher risk factor for mothers than other forms of abortion, the FDA under President Biden has already removed precautions intended to minimize harm to women through chemical abortion. In 2021, the Biden administration permanently removed the requirement for chemical abortion drugs to be dispensed in person, thus allowing women to legally order abortion pills by mail after being evaluated in a telehealth appointment.
Removing the in-person oversight of a physician in the abortion process directly undermines the health and safety of women in many ways. A woman who undergoes an abortion without receiving an ultrasound, for example, runs the risk of failing to diagnose and treat an ectopic pregnancy, which could pose life-threatening danger to a mother. Taking chemical abortion drugs would not treat an ectopic pregnancy. A mother could also be farther along in pregnancy than she realizes, which could lead to even greater complications than usual if she consumes abortion drugs after 10 weeks’ gestation.
The sale of abortion drugs without an in-person visit likewise allows a range of unsavory actors to access abortion drugs, including pimps, sex traffickers, and abusers. Choix, for example, only requires that their clients supply a selfie and a picture of a photo ID — materials that could easily be accessed by someone who is controlling or abusing a woman or girl.
Ironically, these dangers have been present since the moment the Biden administration opened the door for women to obtain chemical abortion drugs without visiting a doctor. Advance provision does not change the fact that prescribing abortion pills without an in-person evaluation is immensely dangerous to women. The FDA’s backpedaling regarding only the advance provision sale of abortion pills is far too little, far too late.
Pandering for the favor of the abortion industry has put the Biden administration in way over its head in policy matters like women’s health, sex trafficking, and domestic abuse. It should be no surprise that businesses that profit from ripping unborn children from the womb do not have women’s best interest in mind. Biden’s FDA will not be free to perform its actual purpose of protecting public health until the president can acknowledge the depravity of the abortion industry and reject its unethical sway over policy.
