Hawley pushes Republicans to back national abortion pill ban
What do you think?
Missouri U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley is stepping up his push for federal abortion restrictions, calling on candidates and elected officials to sign a new “Declaration for Life” that includes support for banning the abortion drug mifepristone.
Hawley unveiled the declaration Wednesday after hosting the first Missouri Prayer Breakfast in Washington with dozens of pastors.
Over than 30 pastors from across the country helped draft the document, with more than 100 Missouri pastors and about 50,000 people signing it.
The Republican senator said he wants candidates for office to commit to protecting what the declaration calls the right to life and to support congressional action against medication abortion.
The four-page declaration argues state abortion restrictions are not enough because abortion pills can be shipped across state lines. It calls on Congress to ban the abortion drug nationally.
The effort builds on legislation Hawley introduced in March. His Safeguarding Women from Chemical Abortion Act would withdraw federal approval of mifepristone when used for abortion and create a federal right for women who say they were harmed by the drug to sue its manufacturers.
The bill has seven Republican co-sponsors but has not advanced beyond the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee since it was introduced March 11.
Hawley argues mifepristone poses significant risks to women. The Food and Drug Administration continues to say the medication is safe when used as directed.
The FDA first approved mifepristone in 2000 and currently allows it, with misoprostol, to end a pregnancy through 10 weeks.
The FDA says it has not identified new safety signals from its review of post-market data, although the agency is conducting an additional safety study.
A coalition led by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists also said this year that decades of evidence support the drug’s safety and effectiveness.
Medication abortion has become a major part of abortion care in the United States.
The Guttmacher Institute estimates medication accounted for about two-thirds of U.S. abortions in 2023.
The debate also has a direct connection to the Four States. Missouri and Kansas, along with Idaho, intervened in continuing litigation challenging federal regulation of mifepristone.
Hawley’s campaign also highlights a divide within the Republican Party over how far the federal government should go on abortion.
The party’s 2024 national platform dropped an earlier call for a federal abortion ban and instead emphasized states’ authority to pass abortion laws.
Hawley and other abortion opponents are now pushing for a national response specifically targeting medication abortion.
