Louisiana Republican U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy speaks during a press conference on Wednesday, January 14, 2026. Also pictured from left are Family Foundation of Virginia President Victoria Cobb, National Association of Christian Lawmakers Founder and President Jason Rapert, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill and Missouri Republican U.S. Senator Josh Hawley. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans on a key U.S. Senate committee on Wednesday called on the Food and Drug Administration to complete its ongoing safety review of medication abortion and urged the Trump administration to again mandate personal drug delivery.
Democrats on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee argued that women, not politicians, could best decide whether to seek a prescription for mifepristone.
Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, chairman of the panel, said he hoped FDA Commissioner Marty Makary would agree to testify before the committee about the trial in the future, although he did not set a deadline.
“At a minimum, the previous personal protection measures should be restored, and immediately,” Cassidy said.
Republicans and anti-abortion organizations did become increasingly skeptical about the FDA’s review afterwards The news came in December that Makary wanted to delay his release until after the November midterm elections.
Washington Democratic Sen. Patty Murray questioned Cassidy’s reasons for holding the hearing, saying more than “160 high-quality studies have been conducted and millions of women around the world use mifepristone every year safely and, incidentally, with fewer complications than Viagra or penicillin.”
Supreme Court case
Access to mifepristone, one of two medication abortion drugs approved by the FDA up to 10 weeks of pregnancy, came to the fore after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down nationwide abortion rights in 2022.
Many Republican states have moved to ban access to mifepristone for abortions, while Democratic states have passed protective laws to protect health care providers who prescribe and ship mifepristone to people in states with constrained or no access.
Dr. Nisha Verma, an associate at Physicians for Reproductive Health in Atlanta, testified before the committee that “the science on the safety and effectiveness of mifepristone is long-standing and established.”
“Over the past 25 years, medication abortion using mifepristone and misoprostol has been extensively studied and proven to be safe and effective in over 100 high-quality, peer-reviewed studies,” Verma said. “Extensive data shows that medication abortion through telemedicine is equally safe and effective, providing vital access to those living in rural areas and the country’s growing number of maternity care deserts.”
Verma gave the probable reason for this the hearing It’s not because Republicans have real concerns about the safety and effectiveness of mifepristone, but rather “because people in this room are uncomfortable with abortion.”
“And that’s fine, and we can talk about it,” Verma said. “And we can have an honest conversation about that and about the complexities and reasons why my patients need abortion care. But we shouldn’t pretend that this is a question of science.”
The Louisiana Attorney General testifies
Louisiana’s Republican Attorney General Elizabeth Murrill criticized the FDA’s decision during the Biden administration to allow prescriptions via telemedicine and ship the drugs, sometimes to states that ban their exploit.
“Protection laws in some states protect providers from liability and effectively nullify laws in other states,” Murrill said. “Their purpose is to make it more difficult to sue or prosecute individuals in these states.”
Indiana Republican Senator Jim Banks expressed disappointment that FDA Commissioner Makary was not among the witnesses who testified at the hearing and called on the agency to quickly release the results of its review of mifepristone.
“I am disappointed that the FDA, under Dr. Makary’s leadership, did not move more quickly to restore the in-person dispensing requirement and strengthen the (risk assessment and mitigation strategies) program for mifepristone,” Banks said. “I hope the rumors are false, some of which are in print, that the agency is intentionally slowing down its study into the health risks of mifepristone.”
Emily G. Hilliard, press secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services, which includes the FDA, wrote in a statement that the department is “conducting a study of reported adverse events associated with mifepristone to assess whether the FDA’s risk reduction program continues to provide adequate protection for women.”
“FDA’s scientific review process is thorough and takes the time necessary to ensure decisions are based on gold scientific standards,” Hilliard wrote. “Dr. Makary adheres to this standard as part of the Department’s commitment to rigorous, evidence-based review.”
After Banks raised his concerns, Cassidy said he hoped to have Makary testify before the committee “very soon, and we have spoken with the FDA to facilitate discussion on this and other issues.”
Cassidy added that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “promised to come back, and we have asked that he come back and testify.”
Republicans and Family Research Council demand FDA action
During a press conference after the hearing, Cassidy joined a handful of other Republican lawmakers and Family Research Council President Tony Perkins to further urge the Trump administration to change prescribing guidelines for mifepristone.
Perkins said the Trump administration could change FDA guidelines on prescribing and distributing mifepristone “overnight” if it wanted to.
He also said enforcement should begin immediately The Comstock Lawan 1873 law that could block the shipment of abortion drugs.
“This is a two-tier solution. One is restoring compulsory attendance and medical exams to ensure women’s lives are not put at risk,” Perkins said. “But then also…just enforcing the law as far as Comstock is concerned.”
