House pro-life co-chair says he is still seeking answers from FDA over mifepristone safety review

House pro-life co-chair says he is still seeking answers from FDA over mifepristone safety review

By Kate Scanlon, OSV News

WASHINGTON OSV News – The co-chair of the House Pro-Life Caucus said he has continued to call on the Trump administration to promptly conduct a pledged safety review of mifepristone, a pill commonly, but not exclusively, used for early abortion.

Asked in a Jan. 15 interview with OSV News if he was confident that a safety review was underway, Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., a longtime Catholic lawmaker who hails from the Diocese of Trenton, said, “I don’t know for sure, but I have asked for it. I’ve had meetings about it.”

Smith pointed to a Nov. 20 letter co-signed by 175 Republican lawmakers, including House GOP leadership, asking Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Martin Makary to investigate the “deleterious and grossly underreported effects” of mifepristone on women, prohibit mail shipment of the drug, and immediately “reinstate the in-person dispensing requirement.”

In September, the FDA, which operates under the Department of Health and Human Services, notified the drug manufacturer Evita Solutions that its generic version of mifepristone was approved, despite previous indications from FDA and Department of Health and Human Services officials that mifepristone would undergo a safety review. On its website, Evita Solutions calls mifepristone “an effective, safe way to terminate early pregnancy.”

The approval of the drug sparked outcry from pro-life advocates. In December, the White House rejected a call from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, which works to elect pro-life candidates to public office, for Makary to be fired after allegations he was slow-walking a safety review of mifepristone in addition to the FDA’s approval of the new generic.

“That drug needs to be pulled yesterday for the sake of women’s health,” Smith told OSV News, arguing the drug presents risks for women separate from its effect on an unborn child.

Proponents of the use of mifepristone for abortion argue the drugs pose statistically little risk for women when used as directed in early pregnancy. But opponents of mifepristone say risks are more common and more dangerous than proponents of the drug say.

“When you have such a dangerous drug to women and women’s health, there has to be a hurry-up offense to get this off the market,” Smith said.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that more than half of the abortions performed in the U.S. are chemical or medical, rather than surgical.

In the interview, which took place shortly before the 53rd annual March for Life, where Smith is scheduled to speak, he said those participating in the event should advocate to the Trump administration and to their elected officials for that review to take place.

“Without a doubt, I think they can encourage them,” he said.

President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House Jan. 16 he recorded a video message for the event. Vice President JD Vance is expected to address the rally in person.

Earlier in January, Trump told House Republicans to be “flexible” in negotiations on health care subsidies with regard to the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits public funding of elective abortions and is a policy pro-life groups have long supported.

Smith said the Hyde Amendment “is a minimalist policy. It saves lives, lots of lives,” and for many years had bipartisan support.

The Hyde Amendment, which was named for the late Republican Congressman Henry Hyde of Illinois, is not permanent law. It must be attached to individual appropriations bills in order to take effect. Supporters of the Hyde Amendment argue it prevents taxpayer-funded abortions and related conscience issues, while critics argue it reduces access to abortion.

Smith pointed to Hyde’s 1990 speech to freshmen members of Congress, in which he told them, “If you don’t know the principle, or the policy, for which you are willing to lose your office, then you are going to do damage here.”

“This institution needs more members willing to look beyond the biennial contest for power, more committed to public service as a vocation rather than merely a career,” Hyde said in that speech.

Asked what he planned to tell participants at the Jan. 23 rally, Smith pointed to the 2026 theme, “Life is a Gift.”

“And I would add a gift from God,” he said. “We need to, as a society, more fully appreciate the splendor of those words, the power of those words. We all have setbacks, everybody – disease, disability, who knows what it might be – but it’s still a gift.”

Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. Follow her on X @kgscanlon.

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