By: Georgette Forney, AFL President
On March 26, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a critical abortion pill case, Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (AHM) v. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The case will focus on the validity of changes made in 2016 and 2021 by the FDA to the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy’s (REMS) safety standards regarding Mifepristone.
Mifepristone (the generic name is Mifeprex) is the first pill taken to start the abortion process. It blocks the progesterone hormone that generates the nutrients needed to feed and sustain the baby’s life in the womb. Blocking the hormone, in essence, starves the baby – leaving the baby to die in the uterus. The second drug, Misoprostol, causes the uterus to contract and expel the baby – typically into a toilet.
According to the National Right to Life White Paper, “The original safety protocols established in 2000, outlined a multi-step process involving at least three required visits to an abortion clinic. In the first visit, a woman visited the doctor’s office, was screened for any contraindications or red flags that might make the pill particularly dangerous for her. She also underwent some sort of exam or questioning to ascertain her gestational age, to make sure there were no signs of ectopic pregnancy. Finally, she was counseled about the process and the risks before being given the Mifepristone pills, which she took there in the physician’s office.
In 2016, the FDA dropped the required visits from three to one, allowing women to take the Misoprostol at home and do any follow up by phone. They expanded the pool of prescribers to include any health care provider who was willing to sign the certification and extended the gestational deadline from seven to ten weeks LMP. They also reduced reporting requirements at this time, requiring that prescribers only report deaths back to the state.”
In December 2021, the FDA, under the Biden administration, eliminated its requirement that abortion pills be dispensed in person. This allowed pharmacists to send them through the mail as long as the recipient had a prescription.
While this case is about the FDA’s changes in oversight regarding the abortion pills, it is really about the 26 women who have died from abortion pill complications and a peer-reviewed study of 423,000 taxpayer-funded abortions that found abortion pill related emergency room visits increased 507% from 2002 to 2015. Women should be able to trust that government agencies like the FDA, will protect them from dangerous drugs. Instead, our government seems more concerned about protecting the abortion industry’s ability to make money.
Recognizing that, today, more than 55% of abortions are done via the abortion pill, the U.S. Supreme Court decision will impact unborn lives and their mothers for years to come. Please join Anglicans For Life in praying daily for this case, specifically for the Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys who will represent AHM.
Please join us in praying this prayer:
Lord God, please hear our prayer on behalf of the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine [AHM] v. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) case that will be heard on March 26. We specifically ask Lord, that AHM’s concern for women’s health and safety would be upheld by keeping all protections and safety measures that were in place prior to 2016. Allow the Justices to understand their role in keeping government agencies accountable and limited in their scope of policy changes. Protect the doctors and their families who have brought this case forward. Most of all, Lord, we pray women would stop using the abortion pills. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
